CHAPTER 1: COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: A BRIEF HISTORY AND INTRODUCTION CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
What Is Cognition? A. The Omnipresence of Cognitive Processes 1. Perception 2. Attention 3. Immediate Memory 4. Identifying and Classifying Objects 5. Long-Term Memory 6. Autobiographical Memory 7. Memory Distortion 8. Language 9. Decision Making 10. Problem Solving B. An Interdisciplinary Perspective C. Stop and Review! II. Psychology B.C. (Before Cognitive Psychology) A. Psychophysics B. Structuralism: The Contents of Mental Experience C. Functionalism: The Functions of Mental Experience D. Behaviorism: The Rejection of Mental Experience E. Laying the Foundation for Cognitive Psychology 1. Ebbinghaus: Pioneering Experiments on Memory 2. Bartlett's Memory Research 3. Gestalt Psychology F. Stop and Review! III. The Emergence of Cognitive Psychology A. S-R Explanations: Seriously wRong? 1. Failure to Account for the Data a. Learning Without Responding b. Learning Without Reinforcement c. Cognitive Maps 2. Lashley Lashes Out B. Technological Influences 1. Communications Engineering 2. Computer Science C. Stop and Review! IV. Psychology A.D. (After the Decline of Behaviorism) A. Behaviorism Reconsidered B. Information Processing: A Computer Metaphor for Cognition C. Connectionism: A Brain Metaphor for Cognition D. The Brain: More than a Metaphor? 1. The Neuron 2. The Brain a. A Terminology Tour b. The Cerebral Cortex c. Hemispheric Asymmetries d. Subcortical Structures 3. The Tools of Cognitive Neuroscience a. Brain Trauma and Lesions E. Current TrendsStop and Review!
Instructor Resources for Cognitive Psychology
STOP AND THINK ELABORATIONS Thinking about Thought Processes (p. 4) This is a straightforward exercise designed to get students thinking about the everyday and applied nature of thought processes (so obvious that it almost seems silly to point out). One interesting variation might be to have students reflect on how their thought processes occasionally misfire, and to reflect on which types of errors (i.e., attention, memory, etc.) seem to be most common. Comparing Cognitive Psychology to its Forerunners (p. 5) This exercise will give you a chance to tie some of the fundamental questions of cognition to those posed by philosophy, and will give students a chance to see yet another connection between psychology and it's foundational discipline. Points that can be raised include the fact that the basic questions that underlie cognitive psychology are largely philosophical ones, while the method used by cognitive psychologists are more in the spirit of physiology. Cognitive Processes - Conscious or Unconscious? (p. 6) This exercise will give students an opportunity to reflect closely on cognitive processes and will no doubt lead them to the realization that some of these processes occur rapidly and completely outside of conscious awareness. You might discuss the difficulties associated with investigating processes that occur quickly and unconsciously, and the methods that are necessitated by these problems (e.g., RT studies). Two Approaches to the Study of Cognition (p. 10) This exercise is a good one for getting students to compare the applied problems and situations to which cognitive research could be applied. Thinking of how cognitive processes might be investigated would be good practice in thinking up operational definitions. Considering Cognition’s Historical Influences (p. 19) This one is simply a conversation starter that requires students to think closely about the various historical influences that led to the development of a science of cognition. Reasons for the choices will provide for some interesting class discussion.
DISCUSSION STARTERS Everyday Cognition: One useful way to introduce the field of cognitive psychology on the first day of class is to simply ask students about the cognitive processes in which they engage every day. Which processes are especially salient? Which processes are especially proficient? What processes seem to be particularly difficult and prone to error? How do the contexts of thinking (internal and external) impact thinking? Introspecting: Having students engage in the task of introspection always serves as an entertaining and informative diversion. Bring something edible to class (e.g., a cookie, gum, candy, etc.) and ask for a volunteer, whose task it will be to introspect upon the experience of eating it. Research Sampler: Students enter their cognition class with little or no idea about the kind of research done in the field. To give them some idea, bring in the table of contents from a leading journal (e.g., Journal of Experimental Psychology, Memory & Cognition) and highlight the range of topics investigated. Can Computers Think? In conjunction with a discussion of the information-processing approach, and the influence of the computer as a model for cognition, start a conversation with students about whether computers might be considered “conscious“ or “thinking“. There are some obvious ways in which they could be (i.e., processing information) and some obvious ways in which they aren't (i.e., expressing emotions). Most students will claim that computers can do nothing that they aren't programmed or “told“ to do. Counter this by arguing that the same could be said of humans. Research Sampler Redux: This extension of the research sampler (see above) involves providing students with a contrast between laboratory and ecological approaches to cognition. To do this, you might provide students with
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some sample titles and/or abstracts from the journals listed above, along with titles from more applied journals such as Applied Cognitive Psychology. Brain Investigation Techniques: One way to give students a glimpse of the different brain investigation techniques would be to have them search via PsycINFO or an internet search engine for the various techniques mentioned in the chapter, and to take note of what they're used to investigate. They might also note what techniques are used in combination. They could also look for associations between the issues investigated and the relative advantages and disadvantages of each technique, as summarized in Table 1.1 (p. 36).
INTERNET RESOURCES History Websites History of Psych Website http://elvers.us/hop/ Today in the History of Psychology http://www.cwu.edu/%7Ewarren/today.html Barnard College History of Psychology Collection http://www.barnard.columbia.edu/psych/museum/b_museum.html
Cognitive Science Websites Gallery of Cognitive Scientists (pictures of cognitive scientists) http://www.bcp.psych.ualberta.ca/~mike/Pearl_Street/Gallery/ Cognitive Science Society http://cognitivesciencesociety.org/index.html Prehistory of cognitive science http://www.rc.umd.edu/cstahmer/cogsci/ The Millennium Project - The top 100 works in cognitive science http://www.cogsci.umn.edu/OLD/calendar/past_events/millennium/home.html
On-Line Laboratory Experiments and Demonstrations PsychExps (Psychology Experiments on the Internet) http://www.psych.uni.edu/psychexps/
Basic Information on Neuroscience Tutorial on Basic Neural processes (By John H. Krantz, Ph.D., Hanover College) http://psych.hanover.edu/Krantz/neurotut.html Neuroscience Tutorial http://thalamus.wustl.edu/course/ UCLA brain-mapping center http://www.brainmapping.org/# Neuroscience for Kids http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html
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Institutes and Organizations Cognitive Neuroscience Society http://www.cogneurosociety.org/ Society for Neuroscience http://www.sfn.org/ Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition http://www.cnbc.cmu.edu Center for Brain and Cognition (V.S. Ramachandran, Director) http://cbc.ucsd.edu/CBC2.html
Miscellaneous Informational and Historical Sites Mind and Body: From Descartes to James (Robert Wozniak, Bryn Mawr College) http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/Mind/ Museum of the Study of RT http://www.chss.montclair.edu/psychology/museum/mrt.html Museum of the Study of psychology Instrumentation http://www.chss.montclair.edu/psychology/museum/museum.htm Encyclopedia of Psychology - Publications in Cognitive Psych (Listing of Cognitive Journals) http://www.psychology.org/links/Publications/Cognitive/index.html Directory of Neuroscience Departments and Programs http://www.andp.org/
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COG BLOGS New Cognitive Robotics Lab Tests Theories of Human Thought http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101230114808.htm New Psychology Theory Enables Computers to Mimic Human Creativity http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101201124345.htm Myth About Popular Optical Illusion Debunked http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101221163836.htm Portraits of Mind at the New York Academy of Science http://danapress.typepad.com/weblog/2010/12/portraits-of-mind-at-the-new-york-academy-of-science.html Fighter Pilots' Brains Are More Sensitive http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101214181930.htm Stunning Details of Brain Connections Revealed http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101117121803.htm Adapted MRI Scan Improves Picture of Changes to the Brain http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101113165257.htm A Technique That Shows Colorful Connections in the Brain http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101020193036.htm The Reality of the Brain-Computer Interface http://brainblogger.com/2009/08/14/the-reality-of-the-brain-computer-interface/ The Prefrontal Cortex is Holistic http://neuroskeptic.blogspot.com/2010/09/prefrontal-cortex-is-holistic.html A Brain Made of Memristers http://brainblogger.com/2010/12/18/a-brain-made-of-memristors/ The Brain is Ready for Its Close-Up http://discovermagazine.com/photos/17-the-brain-is-ready-for-its-close-up Neuroradiology as Art http://neurocritic.blogspot.com/2010/12/neuroradiology-as-art.html I Can Smell Burnt Toast http://mindhacks.com/2010/12/08/i-can-smell-burnt-toast/ Lights, Camera, Action Potential http://mindhacks.com/2010/10/27/lights-camera-action-potential/
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TEST ITEMS MULTIPLE CHOICE 1) The subdiscipline of cognitive science that is interested in the association between mental processing and brain activity is: a) developmental. b) clinical. c) neuropsychology. d) social. Answer: c Page Ref: 4 2) Which of the following is not generally studied by cognitive psychologists? A) memory distortion B) social interaction C) decision making D) problem solving Answer: b Page Ref: 2-4 3) The issue of how we manage (or fail to manage) driving and talking on a cell phone would be of most interest to someone who studies: a) problem solving. b) attention. c) memory. d) decision making. Answer: b Page Ref: 2 4) Which subdiscipline of cognitive science focuses on (as its primary goal) using computers to simulate and model human thought? a) neuroscience b) linguistics c) cognitive psychology d) artificial intelligence Answer: d Page Ref: 6 5) The interdisciplinary field of cognitive science is comprised of fields that include philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, ______, and ______. a) anthropology; sociology b) sociology; artificial intelligence c) anthropology; artificial intelligence d) physics; chemistry Answer: d Page Ref: 4 6) The two disciplines typically characterized as the forerunners to psychology (and cognitive psychology) are: a) philosophy and physiology. b) sociology and history. c) history and philosophy. d) chemistry and theology. Answer: a Page Ref: 5
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7) In which of these would a psychophysicist be most interested? a) the ways in which the perceptual system translates an incoming stimulus b) the basic relationship between brain activity and conscious experience c) identifying the basic sensations, images and feelings that comprise experience d) the behavior of someone in response to some stimulus Answer: a Page Ref:6 8) Generally, as a stimulus becomes more intense, the minimal change in intensity needed in order for a person to notice the change: a) increases. b) decreases. c) stays the same. d) has no relationship whatsoever to original intensity. Answer: a Page Ref: 6 9) Which psychophysicist came up with the notion of an unconscious inference? a) Donders b) Fechner c) Helmholtz d) Wundt Answer: c Page Ref: 6 10) Which psychophysicist’s major contribution was to demonstrate that the relationship between incoming stimuli and corresponding perceptions was not one-to-one? a) Fechner b) Helmholtz c) Wundt d) Titchener Answer: a Page Ref: 711) Helmholtz was a ________ whose work included the insight that ________. a) structuralist; perception involves unconscious inferences about incoming stimuli b) structuralist; consciousness is complex, but composed of simple elements that can be analyzed through introspection c) psychophysicist; perception involves unconscious inferences about incoming stimuli d) psychophysicist; consciousness is complex, but composed of simple elements that can be analyzed through introspection Answer: c Page Ref: 8 12) Psychophysics is to cognitive psychology as ________ is to ________. a) early processes; late processes b) late processes; early processes c) late processes; all processes d) early processes; all processes Answer: d Page Ref: 7
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13) Who established the first psychological laboratory in Leipzig, Germany? a) Titchener b) Fechner c) Watson d) Wundt Answer: d Page Ref: 7 14) The atomistic approach employed by the structuralists — breaking consciousness down into its elemental components — has been likened to the approach of which other scientific discipline? a) physics b) chemistry c) biology d) archaeology Answer: b Page Ref: 7 15) According to structuralists, consciousness encompasses three basic categories of experience, including sensations, feelings, and: a) behaviors. b) motives. c) drives. d) images. Answer: b Page Ref: 7 16) The name “structuralism” was coined by: a) Titchener. b) Wundt. c) James. d) Ebbinghaus. Answer: a Page Ref: 7 17) __________ refers to a procedure that requires a rigorous, and systematic self-report of the basic elements of an experience, and was the primary method used by __________. a) Schema analysis; Gestalt psychologists b) Savings; behaviorists c) Functional reporting; functionalists d) Introspection; structuralists Answer: d Page Ref: 7 19) Who wrote Principles of Psychology, a book that reads like a “what’s what” of the study of cognition? a) James b) Titchener c) Wundt d) Watson Answer: a Page Ref: 8 20) William James was a prominent ________ who characterized consciousness as a _______. a) functionalist; stream b) functionalist; complex combination of simple elements c) structuralist; stream d) structuralist; complex combination of simple elements
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Answer: a Page Ref: 8 21) When considering the emotion of anger; which of these questions would be of most interest to a functionalist? a) What is the purpose of anger? b) What is the conscious experience of anger like? c) What are the behaviors of an angry person? d) What happens in the brain during fits of anger? Answer: a Page Ref: 8 22) The scientific perspective known as behaviorism was established by: a) John Watson. b) William James. c) Edwin C. Tolman. d) B.F. Skinner. Answer: a Page Ref: 8 23) Mind and behavior can be conceptualized as an “S”, an “R”, and a black box in between. The behaviorists were interested in: a) the S's only b) the R's only c) S's and R's d) the black box Answer: c Page Ref: 8 24) In his investigations of memory, Ebbinghaus studied long lists of: a) lines from poems. b) book titles. c) nonsense syllables. d) single syllable words. Answer: c Page Ref: 9 25) The forgetting curve, as mapped out by Ebbinghaus, demonstrates that material is forgotten: a) very slowly at first, then at a very rapid rate. b) rapidly at first, then at a very slow steady rate. c) at a fairly constant rate over time. d) only if there is interference. Answer: b Page Ref: 9 26) If you're a psychology major, you've probably been exposed to basic information about the history of psychology in several courses. Each time you're exposed to this information, you probably pick up on it and retain it a little better. This is an example of ________, a key concept from the work of memory psychologist ________. a) savings; Bartlett b) savings; Ebbinghaus c) schemata; Bartlett d) schemata; Ebbinghaus Answer: b Page Ref: 9
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27) Bartlett's studies of memory were different than Ebbinghaus's in that: a. Bartlett found little evidence of forgetting b. Bartlett's studies featured a higher degree of realism c. Bartlett's ideas were consistent with the behaviorist approach of the day. d. it has had relatively little influence on current day research Answer: b Page Ref: 10 28) What was the term Bartlett used for generalized knowledge structures about events and situations based on past experience? a) savings b) introspections c) configurations d) schemata Answer: d Page Ref: 10 29) Gestalt psychologists are known for their work on ________, and profoundly influenced the present-day study of ________. a) isolating the basic elements of conscious experience; perception and problem-solving b) isolating the basic elements of conscious experience; decision-making and language c) the basic tendency of the mind to organize experience; perception and problem-solving d) the basic tendency of the mind to organize experience; decision-making and language Answer: c Page Ref: 11 30) Which school of psychology is best captured by its credo, “The whole is different than the sum of its parts”? a) Structuralism b) Functionalism c) Gestalt d) Behaviorism Answer: c Page Ref: 11 31) In explaining how a rat learns to navigate a maze to get food, behaviorists would be extremely unlikely to include which of these phrases in their accounts? a. “the rat knows” b. “the rat runs” c. “reinforcement strengthens” d. “stimulus-response connection” Answer: c Page Ref: 13 32) Recall the study by McNamara, Long, & Wike (1956) in which rats were exposed to a T-maze in one of two ways: the rats in one group ran the maze themselves, while the rats in the other group were pushed through the maze in carts. Which group(s) learned to make the correct choice at the end of the “T”? a) The rats who ran themselves learned to make the correct choice, but the rats in carts failed to learn it. b) The rats in carts learned to make the correct choice, but the rats who ran themselves failed to learn it. c) Neither group of rats learned to make the correct choice. d) Both groups of rats learned to make the correct choice. Answer: d Page Ref: 13
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33) What happened to the group of rats that wasn't reinforced until the 11th day of the Tolman and Honzik study? a) After the 11th day, they showed slow but steady improvement in their maze-running. b) They showed no improvement and no decline in their maze-running. c) They showed sudden improvement in their maze-running after day 11, running as quickly as the rats who had always been reinforced. d) They showed sudden improvement in their maze-running, but never ran as quickly as the rats who had always been reinforced. Answer: c Page Ref: 13-14 34) What was the term Tolman coined to refer to learning that occurs in the absence of any reinforcement? a) latent learning b) learning by savings c) Gestalt learning d) associative learning Answer: a Page Ref: 14 35) In a classic study reported by Tolman (1948), rats were exposed to a complex maze that had three different paths to food: Path 1 was shortest, Path 2 was a bit longer, and Path 3 was the longest. After experiencing all of the paths, rats showed a strong preference for Path 1 (the shortest path). Then, the researchers blocked Path 1 — which also, as it turns out, blocked Path 2. What did rats do when they were placed in this situation? a) After being blocked at Path 1, they tried Path 2, then finally chose Path 3. b) After being blocked on Path 1, they kept trying Path 1 over and over again. c) After being blocked at Path 1, they tried Path 2, and then kept trying Path 2 over and over again. d) After being blocked at Path 1, they immediately switched to Path 3 (not even bothering with Path 2). Answer: d Page Ref: 15 33) The behaviorists claimed that in order for learning to take place, you need to have________ and ________. It turns out ________ is (are) absolutely necessary. a) mental representations; motivation; neither b) mental representations; motivation; only mental representations c) response and reinforcement; neither d) response and reinforcement; only reinforcement Answer: d Page Ref: 13-16 34) Lashley ________ the S-R approach to performance, pointing out that ________. a) attacked; complex performance plays out too quickly to be a simple chain of S-R associations b) defended; even complex responses can be explained through a simple appeal to responses and reinforcements c) attacked; humans in no way are guided by associations d) defended; complex responses can only be explained via an S-R analysis. Answer: a Page Ref: 16 35) Noam Chomsky: a) proposed that language can be accounted for solely based on S-R principles. b) sharply criticized Skinner's view of language learning. c) proposed that language learning is dependent on automatic self-reinforcement. d) saw no need for the concept of mental representations in explaining language. Answer: b Page Ref: 16
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36) Chomsky's views on ________ proved to be one of the stiffest challenges to the behaviorist view. a) problem solving b) computers c) attention d) language Answer: d Page Ref: 16 37) Which theorist wrote what one psychologist termed “perhaps the single most influential psychological paper published since Watson's behaviorist manifesto of 1913”? a) Skinner b) Miller c) Chomsky d) Lashley Answer: c Page Ref: 16 38) Little Baruti sees a four-legged creature that makes the noise, “Woof! Woof!”. He points and says, “Dog!” His mother says, “Good, Baruti, good!” Skinner would propose that Baruti saying, “Dog!” is a _____ that comes under control of the stimulus, which is ____. a. response; his mother saying “Good!” b. response; the dog c. reinforcement; his mother saying “Good!” d. reinforcement; the dog Answer: b Page Ref: 17 39) Communications engineering and computer science were both important to the emergence of cognitive psychology because both: a) showed that learning could occur without reinforcement or response. b) showed that machines could perform intelligent human functions. c) provided a model/metaphor for how the mind might work. d) provided technological advances to better investigate mental processing. Answer: c Page Ref: 18-19 40) In the end, what happened to behaviorism? a) It was replaced by a renewed interest in structuralism. b) It completely died out. c) It continues to hold some sway to this day. d) It was replaced by a renewed interest in functionalism. Answer: c Page Ref: 20-21 40) The information processing approach to cognition likens thought to: a) the operation of a computer. b) the storage system of a library. c) the assembly-line production of a factory. d) the trial-and-error learning of the rat in a maze. Answer: a Page Ref: 21
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41) Which of the following is a similarity between computers and humans? a) Both humans and computers translate incoming information into a different form. b) Both humans and computers have the capacity for executing a logical decision chain. c) Both humans and computers have the capacity to store programs and instructions, as well as the data with which these programs work. d) All of the above are similarities between computers and humans. Answer: d Page Ref: 21 42) According to the information processing approach, the brain can be viewed as________, while mental processing can be viewed as ________: a) the “hardware” of a computer; the computer's “software” b) a complex network of nodes; activation among these nodes c) neuronal activity; a computer program d) a computer program; central processing unit Answer: a Page Ref: 21 43) The information processing approach is to the connectionist approach as ________ is to ________. a) recent; antique b) serial; parallel c) automatic; controlled d) brain; computer Answer: b Page Ref: 21-22 44) Which model of cognition uses a brain-based metaphor to describe cognitive processes in terms of complex and interconnected networks of individual processing units that operate in parallel? a) Computerism b) Structuralism c) Parallelism d) Connectionism Answer: d Page Ref: 21-22 45) Another name for connectionism is: a) Parallel Distributed Processing. b) Computerism. c) Associative Network Modeling. d) Cognitive Mapping. Answer: a Page Ref: 22 46) In explaining cognition, the connectionist approach emphasizes: a) interactions between individual processing units in the brain. b) the serial nature of cognitive processing. c) that cognitive processes are localized within certain regions of the brain. d) simple perceptual processing, rather than higher-level cognitive processing. Answer: a Page Ref: 22 47) Cognitive neuroscience emerged in the: a) 1950s. b) 1960s. c) 1970s. d)1980s.
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Answer: c Page Ref: 23 48) The higher cognitive processes, such as remembering, planning, and deciding are located in: a) the cerebral cortex. b) the midbrain. c) the hindbrain. d) none of the above. Answer: a Page Ref: 24 49) Communication between neurons can be described as: a) electrical only. b) chemical only. c) both electrical and chemical. d) neither electrical nor chemical. Answer: c Page Ref: 25 50) The assumption that the association between two neurons becomes stronger if these two neurons are active at the same time forms a partial basis for which approach to cognition? a) descriptive approach b) connectionist approach c) information processing approach d) ecological approach Answer: b Page Ref: 25 51) You're visiting the neuroscience lab of Dr. Wu, and he asks you to look at his plastic model of the brain, particularly the rostral area. Where should you look on his model? a) the front b) the back c) the top d) the bottom Answer: a Page Ref: 26 52) The ______ comprises most of the brain and consists mainly of the ______, a) hindbrain; amygdala, and thalamus b) forebrain; amygdale and thalamus c) hindbrain; cerebral cortex d) forebrain; cerebral cortex Answer: d Page Ref: 26 53) The _______ is the seat of what are typically labeled “higher cognitive functions.” a) hindbrain b) midbrain c) caudal area d) cerebral cortex Answer: d Page Ref: 26
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54) The areas of the brain that aren't strictly devoted to sensory or motor functions are termed: a) prefrontal areas. b) association areas. c) occipital areas. d) Broca's areas. Answer: b Page Ref: 27 55) Which of these is a correct sequencing of cortical areas, from those most anterior to those most posterior? a) occipital lobe, parietal lobe, motor cortex, prefrontal cortex b) prefrontal cortex, motor cortex, parietal lobe, occipital lobe c) parietal lobe, motor cortex, occipital lobe, prefrontal cortex d) motor cortex, prefrontal cortex, parietal lobe, occipital lobe Answer: b Page Ref: 27 56) Research on split-brain patients reveals that: a) the left hemisphere typically specializes in verbal processing, while the right hemisphere specializes in spatial tasks b) the left hemisphere typically specializes in spatial tasks, while the right hemisphere specializes in verbal processing c) people who have had their corpus callosum severed have a great deal of difficulty functioning in everyday life d) for normal people, there is no difference between the functioning of the left and right hemispheres Answer: a Page Ref: 28 57) Which subcortical structure seems particularly involved in regulating emotion and forming emotional memories? a) hippocampus b) hindbrain c) hypothalamus d) amygdala Answer: d Page Ref: 28 58) Wernicke's insights about language use were based on this neuroscientific technique: a) brain trauma and lesion b) EEG c) ERP d) CTscan Answer: a Page Ref: 29 59) Suppose damage to a particular brain area leaves someone unable to recognize faces, but does not affect the ability to recognize objects. This is an example of ________, and provides some evidence that ________. a) a single dissociation; recognition of faces and recognition of objects depend on different brain mechanisms b) a single dissociation; recognition of faces and recognition of objects depend on the same brain mechanisms c) a double dissociation; recognition of faces and recognition of objects depend on different brain mechanisms d) a double dissociation; recognition of faces and recognition of objects depend on the same brain mechanisms Answer: a Page Ref: 30
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60) Suppose damage to brain area “A” leaves someone unable to recognize faces, but does not affect the ability to recognize everyday objects. In addition, suppose that damage to brain area “B” leaves someone unable to recognize everyday objects, but does not affect the ability to recognize faces. This is an example of a ________, and provides some evidence that ________. a) a single dissociation; recognition of faces and recognition of objects depend on different brain mechanisms b) a single dissociation; recognition of faces and recognition of objects depend on the same brain mechanisms c) a double dissociation; recognition of faces and recognition of objects depend on different brain mechanisms d) a double dissociation; recognition of faces and recognition of objects depend on the same brain mechanisms Answer: c Page Ref: 30 61) Which brain investigation technique provides a global recording of the action potentials occurring in the brain? a) CATscan b) PETscan c) fMRI d) electroencephalograph (EEG) Answer: d Page Ref: 31 62) Event-related potentials is a technique used in conjunction with ________ that allows researchers to _______. a) PET scan; plot out the time course of brain activity in response to some discrete event b) PET scan; derive a “map” of active and inactive brain areas c) electroencephalography; plot out the time course of brain activity in response to some discrete event d) electroencephalography; derive a “map” of active and inactive brain areas Answer: c Page Ref: 32 63) A semantic anomaly (i.e., “Jake put the cookies into the birdbath.”) produces an ERP signal termed an N400. What does the “400” refer to? a) distance in the brain's cortex b)approximate number of neurons responding c) time between stimulus presentation and brain response d) the time it takes for the person to say they notices an anomaly in the sentence Answer: c Page Ref: 32 64) Which neuroscientific investigation technique uses a SQUID? a) ERP b) MEG c)PTscan d)fMRI Answer: b Page Ref: 32-33 65) How does magnetoencephalography (MEG) compare to EEG in terms of spatial and temporal resolution? a) MEG is better than EEG for spatial resolution; the reverse is true for temporal resolution b) MEG is better than EEG for temporal resolution; the reverse is true for spatial resolution c) EEG is better than MEG for both spatial and temporal resolution d) MEG is better then EEG for both spatial and temporal resolution Answer: d Page Ref: 33 66) How does TMS (trans-cranial magnetic stimulation) differ from the other techniques? a) TMS involves direct stimulation of the brain; the other techniques do not. b) TMS involves getting an “image” or picture of the brain; the other techniques do not. c) TMS provides poorer temporal and spatial resolution than all of the other techniques. d) TMS is much more costly than any other of the techniques.
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Answer: a Page Ref: 33 67) Which neuroscience investigation technique uses detectors that are sensitive to hemoglobin levels in the blood? a) PETscan b) TMS c) fMRI d) MEG Answer: c Page Ref: 34 68) The most commonly used neuroscience tool seems to be: a) imaging techniques like fMRI and PETscan. b) stimulation techniques like TMS. c)recording techniques like EEG/ERP. d)brain trauma and lesion. Answer: a Page Ref: 35 69)Which technique for brain investigation is has been termed “the new phrenology”? a)brain trauma and lesion b) imaging techniques like fMRI and PETscan c) stimulation techniques like TMS d)recording techniques like EEG/ERP Answer: b Page Ref: 35 70) How much of our brain do we use? a) more of the right than the left b) more of the left than the right c) about 10% d) 100% Answer: d Page Ref: 37 71) As external (or ecological) validity increases, what happens to internal validity? a) Internal validity tends to increase also. b)Internal validity tends to decrease. c) Internal validity remains constant. d) It completely depends on the particular research design. Answer: b Page Ref: 39 72) In referring to “the problem of meaning”, renowned psychologist Jerome Bruner was offering what critique of cognitive research? a) too much emphasis on internal validity at the expense of external validity b) too much emphasis on external validity at the expense of internal validity c) not enough emphasis on how cognition relates to brain activity d) research in cognition should be “disembodied” Answer: a Page Ref: 40 73) What is the term proposed by Descartes that refers to the belief that mind and body are separable entities? a) Empiricism b) Materialism c) Dualism d) Embodied Cognition
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Answer: c Page Ref: 41 74) Which term refers to a constellation of ideas emphasizing the belief that thinking is dynamic and occurs in conjunction with action and within a broader context that guides and shapes it? a) Materialism b) Embodied cognition c) Dualism d) Empiricism Answer: b Page Ref: 41 75) Metacognition refers to: a) the role that emotion plays in cognition. b) the fact that we have evolved particular cognitive tendencies and abilities. c) the role that the body plays in thinking. d) the knowledge we have about our own cognitive processes. Answer: d Page Ref: 42
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Chapter 1
Cognitive Psychology: A Brief History and Introduction
ESSAY 1) What is cognitive science, and of what disciplines is it comprised? Page Ref: 5-6 2) Define psychophysics, and briefly explain its role in the history of cognitive psychology. Page Ref: 7-9 3) What are the three important principles that are highlighted by Helmholtz’s concept of unconscious inference? Page Ref: 8 4) Describe the basic approaches of structuralism and functionalism, and state which had more of an impact on the development of a scientific psychology (and why). Page Ref: 9-10 5) Discuss the work of Ebbinghaus and how he investigated memory. Why were his contributions important? Page Ref: 12-13 6) Explain the S-R analysis for how an organism learns to perform a behavior. (Hint: use the terms stimulus, response, and reinforcement). Explain why (a) learning without reinforcement and (b) learning without responding are problematic for this analysis. Page Ref: 15-20 7) Describe the objections to the behaviorist analysis of complex behavior and language offered by Lashley and Chomsky. How did their proposals help form a basis for the study of cognition? Page Ref: 20-21 8) Describe how the development of technology (i.e., computers and communications engineering) helped provide a basis and a metaphor for the study of cognition. Page Ref: 22 9) Describe the major assumptions underlying the information processing approach, and discuss some of the similarities between humans and computers. Page Ref: 24-26 10) Outline the basic assumptions of the connectionist approach to cognition, and describe the differences between the connectionist approach and the information-processing approach.: Page Ref: 26-29 11) Discuss the ecological approach to the study of cognition, and compare it to the traditional approach. Page Ref: 30 12) Summarize the major subsections, areas, and structures of the brain, and their function. 13) Describe the general method used in EEG and ERP? What type of information do they yield about brain function? 14) Describe the general method used by imaging methods? What type of information do they yield about brain function? 15) What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of each of the neuroscience techniques?
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CHAPTER 2: PERCEPTION AND CONSCIOUSNESS: BASICS OF INFORMATION INTAKE CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
Basic Issues in Perception A. Sensation and Perception B. Bottom-Up and Top-Down Processing 1. Are Our Perceptions Constructions? 2. Stop and Review II. The Basic Tasks of Visual Perception A. Perceptual Organizational Processes 1. Grouping and Region Segmentation a. Figure-Ground 2. Global Precedence 3. Stop and Review III. Multi-Sensory Interaction and Integration A. Synesthesia B. Comparing the Senses 1. Vision and Audition 2. Vision and Chemical Senses 3. Vision and Touch 4. Auditon and Touch C. Perception and Action 1. Affordances 2. Embodied Perception 3. Stop and Review IV. Consciousness A. Varieties of Consciousness B. Dissociations in Consciousness 1. Authorship Processing 2. What vs. Where: Blindsight C. Subliminal Perception 1. Preconscious Identification 2. Effects of Subliminal Primes a. Questions of Definition and Method i. What is meant by “subliminal”? ii. What is meant by “influence behavior”? 3. Stop and Review
Chapter 2 Perception and Consciousness: Basics of Information Intake
STOP AND THINK ELABORATIONS Grouping (p. 50) As with the depth cues, students will be able to come up with a number of grouping cues that are apparent in their immediate visual environment. You could note that, occasionally, Gestalt grouping cues are in opposition to one another (i.e., proximity vs. similarity) and have students consider what would cause one to dominate the other. Figuring out Figure-Ground (p. 52) As with many perceptual thought experiments, this one will help illuminate what we often take for granted. According to the research cited in the text, objects cited as ground should be smaller and more symmetrical than those in the background. They should also be positioned relatively low in the scene, and typically are more meaningful. This last characteristic might lead to some interesting discussion; ask students what it means for visual elements to be more and less “meaningful.” Can You Afford It? (p. 62) A variation on this Stop and Think might be to conduct it as a classroom exercise. Have students look at the various objects and locations and the room, and observe whether certain things “invite” or “afford” some type of action. Embodied Perception (p. 67) This demonstration might seem a little strange to students, but should serve to highlight the key elements of Proffitt’s embodied perception view. The backpack should seem heavier the more tired the “subjects” are (i.e., in the morning, or perhaps late in the day). One critical factor might be to have the subjects think they are going to have to lift the backpack. You might have your students introduce this as an independent variable. This demonstration also allows for a discussion of experimental control, as you could have students identify all of the possible flaws of the “experiment.”
DISCUSSION STARTERS Signal Detection: The theory of signal detection makes it apparent that perception is not just a matter of the sensitivity of the observer; it's also a function of a bias of the perceiver. Engage students in a discussion of the factors that might lead to changes in this bias; that is, circumstances that may pre-dispose someone to see, hear (or feel, taste, smell) a signal, and those that may pre-dispose against it. Individual Differences in Sensory Abilities: The notion of signal detection makes it very apparent that people differ in terms of their abilities to detect a signal, because of both sensitivity and bias-related factors. Ask students to reflect on how these differences may line up in terms of individual differences (i.e., between female and male, among those with different cultural backgrounds, between young and old, between experts and novices within a given area, etc.). Subliminal Disney: Urban legends abound about the sinister intent of subliminal messages supposedly found in some of Disney's animated classics (most notably The Lion King and The Little Mermaid). Ask students for what they've heard and seen about these messages (they will definitely be familiar with the claim, and probably will have seen the examples). Then have them reflect on the likely (non-)effect of these clips, and how the phenomenon may be primarily a function of top-down processing. Not Attended vs. Not Perceived: Students' naïve views of subliminal stimulation’s effectiveness are often rooted in a misunderstanding of the term “subliminal.” Rather than the word's literal translation as “below threshold,” people take it to mean “unattended.” This distinction is made in the text, but it may be worthwhile to pursue it a little further as a way of foreshadowing some of the issues that will be discussed in Chapter 4 in the context of selective attention. As they will see, unattended information can indeed have a substantial effect.
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Instructor Resources for Cognitive Psychology
INTERNET RESOURCES Labs and Perceptual Demos Audiovisual Speech and Auditory Event Perception Laboratory (UC Riverside) http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/~rosenblu/labhome.html McGurk Effect http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4fUi0eG1X4&NR=1 Blindsight demo http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/blindsight.html
Researchers, Institutes and Organizations\ Affordance Perception-Action Laboratory (APAL) at the University of Minnesota http://www.cehd.umn.edu/kin/research/apal/ Stephen Palmer http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~plab/ Richard Cytowic (Synesthesia) http://cytowic.net/ Synesthesia Resource Center http://www.bluecatsandchartreusekittens.com/Blue_Cats_and_Chartreuse_Kittens_Rel.html University of Iowa Visual Cognition Lab (Shaun Vecera) http://www.psychology.uiowa.edu/Faculty/Vecera/lab/ University of Illinois Visual Cognition Lab (Daniel Simons) http://viscog.beckman.uiuc.edu/djs_lab/ University of British Columbia Visual Cognition Lab (Ronald Rensink) http://psyclab1.psych.ubc.ca/~viscoglab/ Proffitt Perception Lab at the University of Virginia (Dennis Proffitt) http://www.faculty.virginia.edu/perlab/ Crossmodal Research Laboratory (Oxford University) http://psyweb.psy.ox.ac.uk/xmodal/default.htm
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Chapter 2 Perception and Consciousness: Basics of Information Intake
COGBLOGS On the Touchstone of Consciousness http://mindhacks.com/2010/11/26/on-the-touchstone-of-consciousness/ Brain Region Responsible for Speech Illusion Identified; Study Explains How Visual Cues Disrupt Speech Perception http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101116210236.htm What You See Changes Where You Hear: Exposure to Light for Only Milliseconds Alters Perceived Source of Sound http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101116210501.htm 'Binocular Rivalry' Deciphered: Key Brain Mechanism Behind Conscious Visual Perception http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101119083226.htm Using Invisible Visual Signals to See Things http://mindblog.dericbownds.net/2010/11/using-invisible-visual-signals-to-see.html Hypnosis in the Lab: The Suggestion of Altered States http://mindhacks.com/2010/09/30/hypnosis-in-the-lab-the-suggestion-of-altered-states/ Blurring the Self-Other Boundary: The Rubber Hand Illusion and Mirror Failures http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mental-mishaps/201008/blurring-the-self-other-boundary-the-rubber-handillusion-and-mirror-fail Sensory Blending http://mindhacks.com/2010/10/22/sensory-blending/ Self Comes to Mind http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/11/self-comes-to-mind/
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Instructor Resources for Cognitive Psychology
TEST ITEMS MULTIPLE CHOICE 1) The term ________ is typically associated with the physiological processes that underlie information intake, while the term ________ is typically associated with the interpretation and organization of incoming information. a) top-down processing; bottom-up processing b) bottom-up processing; top-down processing c) sensation; perception d) perception; sensation Answer: c Page Ref: 46 2) _______ is the identification of a stimulus through the assembly of its component features. a) Top-down processing b) Bottom-up processing c) Materialism d) Phenomenal consciousness Answer: b Page Ref: 46-47 3) What is another name for bottom-up processing? a) Data-driven processing b) Connectionist processing c) Neural network processing d) Conceptually-driven processing Answer: a Page Ref: 46-47 4) The identification of a stimulus with the help of context, previous knowledge, and/or expectations is called: a) top-down processing. b) bottom-up processing. c) materialism. d) phenomenal consciousness. Answer: a Page Ref: 47 5) What is another name for top-down processing? a) data-driven processing b) connectionist processing c) neural network processing d) conceptually-driven processing Answer: d Page Ref: 47 6) The constructive view of perception is to the direct view of perception as ______ is to ______. a) optical flow; texture gradients b) texture gradients; optical flow c) top-down; bottom-up d) bottom-up; top-down Answer: c Page Ref: 47
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Chapter 2 Perception and Consciousness: Basics of Information Intake
7) Which school of psychology included principles of visual organization in their understanding of psychological processes? a) Gestalt b) Functionalism c) Structuralism d) Behaviorism Answer: a Page Ref: 49 8)
_________ refers to the tendency for objects that are near to one another to be grouped. a) Similarity b) Proximity c) Closure d) Common fate Answer: b Page Ref: 49
9) Brown-colored moths are less likely than red-colored moths to be eaten by birds while sitting on the trunk of a tree because of: a) the grouping principle of proximity. b) the grouping principle of continuity. c) the grouping principle of closure. d) the figure-ground principle. Answer: d Page Ref: 49 10)
A tendency to perceive lines as flowing naturally, in a single direction is called: a) grouping. b) proximity. c) good continuation. d) common fate. Answer: c Page Ref: 49
11) Our tendency to perceptually complete incomplete objects and figures is called: a) closure. b) proximity. c) synchrony. d) common fate Answer: a Page Ref: 49 12) Our tendency to group elements together if they are moving in the same direction or at the same speed is called: a) closure. b) proximity. c) synchrony. d) common fate. Answer: d Page Ref: 49 13) During a summer storm, Hannah noticed that there seemed to be two groups of clouds because of the different speeds at which they appeared to be moving, due to the Gestalt grouping principle of: a) common fate. b) closure. c) element connectedness. d) synchrony. 25
Instructor Resources for Cognitive Psychology
Answer: d Page Ref: 49 14) Our tendency to group elements that occur at the same time is called: a) common fate. b) similarity. c) closure. d) synchrony. Answer: d Page Ref: 50 15) Palmer and Beck (2007) provide empirical evidence for the power of the Gestalt principles in guiding perception by using a task they termed: a) rapid grouping. b) repetition discrimination. c) proximity perception. d) Gestalt sensitivity. Answer: b Page Ref: 50 16) In most visual scenes we experience, objects below the horizon line tend to be ________ than those above the horizon line, and therefore tend to be seen as _______. a) closer; figure b) closer; ground c) farther away; figure d) farther away; ground Answer: a Page Ref: 51 17) Navon (1977) presented participants with big letters made up of smaller letters. He had some participants identify the large letter, while other participants had to identify the smaller letters. Finally, on some trials, the large and small letters conflicted (e.g., a large H made of small S’s) while on other trials, the large and small letters were consistent (a large H made up of small H’s). What did he find? a) Participants were faster at identifying small letters than they were at identifying large letters. b) Conflict between the large and small letters didn’t influence the ability to identify the small letter. c) Conflict between the large and small letters made it more difficult to identify the small letter. d) Conflict between the large and small letters made it easier to identify the large letter. Answer: c Page Ref: 53 18) A tendency to encode the overall features of a scene before apprehending scene details is called: a) figure-ground. b) global precedence. c) synchrony. d) common fate. Answer: b Page Ref: 52-53 19) Research by Davidoff, Fonteneau and Fagot (2008) investigated the global precedence effect in a remote _____ ________ culture, and found that _______. a) South American; global precedence also occurred in this culture b) African; global precedence also occurred in this culture c) South American; global precedence was reversed in this culture d) African; global precedence was reversed in this culture Answer: d Page Ref: 53-54
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Chapter 2 Perception and Consciousness: Basics of Information Intake
20) Experiences in which input from one sensory system produces an experience not only in that modality but in another, as well, are called: a) synesthesia. b) synchrony. c) modulation. d) syncopation. Answer: a Page Ref: 55 21) Which of these would be considered a “synesthetic” phrase? a) hot water b) loud colors c) bright lights d) stinging pain Answer: b Page Ref: 55 22) A speech perception effect in which visual information conflicts with auditory signals, changing the perceived speech sound is called: a) the averaging effect. b) synesthesia. c) the ventriloquist effect. d) the McGurk effect. Answer: d Page Ref: 56 23) Bargary, Barnett, Mitchell, and Newell (2009) attempted to isolate the stage of processing (early/low-level or later/high-level) that underlies _____ synesthesia, and found evidence that _______ processing is responsible. a) strong; early/low-level b) weak; early/low-level c) strong; later/high-level d) weak; later/high-level Answer: c Page Ref: 56 24) ____________ occurs when a visual cue that is presented simultaneously with an auditory stimulus biases the localization of that auditory stimulus toward the location of the visual cue. a) Synesthesia b) A lateralization effect c) The ventriloquist effect d) The McGurk effect Answer: c Diff: 1 Page Ref: 57 25) The McGurk effect occurs when: a) we experience a stimulus from one sensory modality (e.g., audition) in another sensory modality (e.g., vision). b) sounds coming from the speakers distributed throughout a theater seem to be coming from the screen. c) visual cues impact how we perceive speech sounds. d) we experience phantom tactile sensations because of visual cues. Answer: c Page Ref: 56
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Instructor Resources for Cognitive Psychology
26) Schutz and Lipscomb (2007) demonstrated cross-modal perception by investigating people's perception of a _____ player. a) marimba b) tympani c) xylophone d) bass drum Answer: a Page Ref: 57 27) What happened when Morrot, Brochet, & Dubourdieu (2001) gave white wine to wine experts, with the twist that the wine was artificially colored to look like red wine? a) the experts described the white wine with typical, “white-wine” terms b) the experts described the white wine with typical “red-wine” terms. c) the experts reported that it tasted like white wine, but used red-wine terms to describe it. d) the experts reported that it tasted like red wine, but used white-wine terms to describe it. Answer: a Page Ref: 58 28) In the “dummy hands” study conducted by Pavani, Spence and Driver (2000): a) touch dominated vision. b) reaction time was the independent variable. c) dummy hands had an influence even if they were misaligned with the participants’ real hands. d) participants seem to have experienced an illusory sensation of touch. Answer: d Page Ref: 58-59 29) Research on the rubber hand illusion has provided researchers with insight into which phenomenon? a) paraplegia and quadriplegia b) loss of feeling due to frostbite c) phantom limb pain d) skin cancer Answer: a Page Ref: 60 30) Rosenbaum (2005) dubbed the study of ______ as the “Cinderella” of psychology because of its longstanding neglect among cognitive researchers. a) perception by blind individuals b) sports c) motor control d) synesthesia Answer: c Page Ref: 61 31) The notion of an affordance - - that certain objects or structures offer particular “action possibilities” (i.e., sitting) — fits nicely with which theoretical approach? a) constructive view of perception b) direct view of perception c) Gestalt principles of organization d) top-down processing Answer: b Page Ref: 62
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Chapter 2 Perception and Consciousness: Basics of Information Intake
32) Ishak, Adolph, and Linn (2008) investigated affordances by looking at the response of ______, and found the participants to be quite ________ to aperture size. a) reaching; sensitive b) tossing small objects; sensitive c) reaching; insensitive d) tossing small objects; insensitive Answer: a Page Ref: 62-63 33) According to Proffitt’s (2006) experiment on estimation of slant, after a long and fatiguing run, a runner would estimate an upcoming hill as ______ relative to estimates made when they were rested. a) steeper b) less steep c) flatter d) equivalent in slope Answer: a Page Ref: 66 34) The sense of subjective awareness of what our mind is currently doing is termed: a) access consciousness. b) phenomenal consciousness. c) metacognition. d) unconsciousness. Answer: b Page Ref: 69 35) Processes whereby we manipulate representations in the service of reasoning, communication, or behavior is termed: a) access consciousness. b) phenomenal consciousness. c) metacognition. d) monitoring consciousness. Answer: a Page Ref: 69 36) If someone is influenced by something of which they are unaware, this would be an example of: a) access consciousness in the absence of phenomenal consciousness. b) phenomenal consciousness in the absence of access consciousness. c) having both access and phenomenal consciousness of an event. d) having neirther access nor phenomenal consciousness of an event. Answer: a Page Ref: 70 37) If two people have exactly the same sensory abilities and hear exactly the same faint noise, they may differ in their experience due to: a) sensitivity. b) response bias. c) sensation. d) bottom-up processing. Answer: b Page Ref: 70 38) The ability to detect the presence or absence of a stimulus or a change in a stimulus is termed: a) sensitivity. b) response bias. c) sensation. d) bottom-up processing. 29
Instructor Resources for Cognitive Psychology
Answer: a Page Ref: 70 39) ________ is the set of processes that leads us to attribute events to the entities that are thought to have caused them. a) Metacognition b) Conscious will c) Authorship processing d) Gestalt processing Answer: c Page Ref: 71 40) When using an Ouija board, a person's sense of agency is likely to be _____; when driving an extremely responsive sports car, a person's sense of agency is likely to be _____. a) poor; poor b) poor; good c) good; good d) good; poor Answer: b Page Ref: 72 41) Wegner, Sparrow, and Winerman (2004) investigated people's sense of agency and revealed it to be ______; Metcalfe and Greene (2007) investigated people's metacognition of agency, and revealed it to be ______. a) accurate; accurate b) inaccurate; inaccurate c) accurate; inaccurate d) inaccurate; accurate Answer: c Page Ref: 72-74 42) The phenomenon of blindsight suggests that the visual system has a “where” system concerned with detection and localization of visual stimuli, and a “what” system concerned with identification of stimuli. People who exhibit the phenomenon of blindsight are thought to have which of these systems intact? a) both “what” and “where” systems are intact b) neither the “what” nor the “where” systems are intact c) only the “what” system is intact d) only the “where” system is intact Answer: d Page Ref: 74-75 43) The purported tendency to be influenced by stimuli presented below the level of awareness is the term for a) Subliminal perception b) Supraliminal perception c) Response bias d) Perception sensitivity Answer: a Page Ref: 75 44) Costello, Jiang, Baartman, and He (2009) found evidence for preconscious processing within the binocular rivalry paradigm. Subliminal processing was evident in that: a) subliminally presented primes made responding faster. b) subliminally presented primes made responding slower. c) subliminally presented words became easier to identify if preceded by a related prime. d) subliminally presented words were more difficult to identify if preceded by a related prime. Answer: c Page Ref: 76-77
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Chapter 2 Perception and Consciousness: Basics of Information Intake
45) Cheesman and Merikle’s (1984) investigations on subliminal priming suggested that: a) whether “subliminal” is determined objectively or subjectively, subliminal priming doesn’t work b) if “subliminally” is defined objectively, subliminal priming works; if it’s defined subjectively, it doesn’t c) if “subliminally” is defined subjectively, subliminal priming works; if it’s defined objectively, it doesn’t d) subliminal priming works, regardless of whether “subliminally” is defined subjectively or objectively Answer: c Page Ref: 78 46) Many social psychologists point out that tests of subliminal persuasion are not really fair tests, because: a) the primes aren't really subliminal. b) the subliminal messages used are too short to be perceived. c) subliminal messages don't work unless they tap into some motivation or need. d) subliminal messages work only in the auditory sense; most empirical tests have been visual. Answer: c Page Ref: 79 47) Greenwald, et al., (1991) conducted a double-blind study on the effectiveness of subliminal self-help audiotapes. In their study, participants listened to one of two self-help tapes that (ostensibly) presented messages designed to aid memory or self-esteem. However, the memory tape was labeled “self-esteem” and the self-esteem tape was labeled “memory improvement.” Later they were assessed on actual improvement in selfesteem or memory, as well as their own perceived improvement in self-esteem or memory. What was found? a) There were actual improvements, and these improvements matched the content of the tape. b) There were only perceived improvements, and these improvements matched the content of the tape. c) There were actual improvements, and these improvements matched the label of the tape. d) There were only perceived improvements, and these improvements matched the label of the tape. Answer: d Page Ref: 80 48) The study by Vokey and Reed (1988), in which participants were told what to listen for in backwards messages, showed that participants could hear what they were expecting to hear. However, if they were not told what to listen for, they picked up on no message. This shows that many subliminal effects may be the product of: a) direct perception. b) bottom-up processing. c) top-down processing. d) sensation. Answer: c Page Ref: 80-81
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Instructor Resources for Cognitive Psychology
ESSAY 1) Why do psychologists generally make a distinction between sensation and perception? Page Ref: 46 2) Distinguish between bottom-up and top-down processes, and give an example of how the two might converge in the perception of some scene. Page Ref: 46-47 3) What's the basic idea behind the direct view of perception, and in what ways does it differ from the constructive view? Page Ref: 47 4) Describe four of the Gestalt principles of organization, and give an example of each. Page Ref: 49 3) “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” Describe Navon's study on global precedence — what did he do in this experiment, and how did it test this Gestalt credo? What critical findings demonstrated the truth of the saying? Does this finding generalize across cultures? Explain. Page Ref: 52-54 4) Describe the phenomenon of synesthesia and its main features. What’s the difference between strong synesthesia and weak synesthesia? Does synesthesia seem to be based more on low-level or higher-level processes? Explain. Page Ref: 55-57 5) Vision tends to dominate the other senses. Discuss this general principle, citing two examples or studies. Page Ref: 57-61 6) The results of the Pavani, Spence, and Driver study indicated that the dummy hands gave rise to “an out of body experience.” How did the study demonstrate this? Page Ref: 58-60 7) What is an affordance? Give an example, and describe whether the notion of an affordance fits better with a constructive or direct view of perception and why? Page Ref: 62 8) Discuss the notion of “embodied perception” and describe how the research of Proffitt and his colleagues demonstrates the interaction between perception and action. Page Ref: 64-67 9) Distinguish between “access” and “phenomenal” consciousness. Describe how Wegner’s notion of “authorship processing” demonstrates a dissociation between these two dimensions of consciousness. Do the same for the phenomenon of blindsight. Page Ref: 69-72 10) Say a friend who hears you're taking a cognition class asks you this question: “Hey, have you talked about subliminal advertising? It sounds really cool — stuff that you aren't even paying attention to can influence your behavior...how does that work?” Construct your best answer to your overenthused friend (and consider what he said carefully). Make sure you bring up a couple of critical distinctions that determine whether or not you get the sorts of effects that your friend is talking about. Page Ref: 75-81
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TEST ITEMS MULTIPLE CHOICE 1) Which of the following is not one of the basic characteristics of attention? a) limited b) auditory c) flexible d) voluntary control Answer: b Page Ref: 84-85 2) Post-attentive processes: a) require little attention. b) occur before attention is focused. c) are effortful and conscious. d) would include the perceptual grouping processes proposed by Gestalt psychologists. Answer: c Page Ref: 85-86 3) For which of these numbers would you most likely count rather than subitize? a) 0 b) 1 c) 3 d) 5 Answer: d Page Ref: 86 4) The steady increase in reaction time that occurs when enumerating items in a visual display: a) indicates post-attentive processing is involved. b) indicates pre-attentive processing is involved. c) is indicative of subitizing. d) indicates that there is no difference between pre-attentive and post-attentive processing. Answer: b Page Ref: 86 5) The active mode of attention might also be termed: a) bottom-up. b) goal-driven. c) stimulus-driven. d) pre-attentive. Answer: b Page Ref: 88 6) Laberge (1983) presented visual displays in which participants attended to five locations spaced evenly across a visual display. He found that on critical trials, RT to a target was fastest for ______, supporting ______. a) items in the middle of the display; spotlight models of attention b) a items in the middle of the display; the role of bottom-up processing in attention c) items in the periphery of the display; spotlight models of attention d) a items in the middle of the display; the role of bottom-up processing in attention Answer: b Page Ref: 88
Chapter 1
Cognitive Psychology: A Brief History and Introduction
7) If attention is like a spotlight, then as attention shifts, the “space” along the way should be temporarily illuminated by the spotlight (temporary illumination), and the time it takes to shift attention should be systematically related to how far the spotlight has to travel (shift time). Which of these two predictions is clearly borne out by empirical data? a) both b) neither c) temporary illumination d) shift time Answer: b Page Ref: 89-90 8) Jujuan is listening to his professor's lecture when all of a sudden he notices a bee hovering near the student directly in front of him. Being deathly afraid of bees, Jujuan now attentionally follows the bee all over the room. Jujuan has shifted from: a) stimulus-driven to goal-driven attention. b) pre-attentive to post-attentive processing. c) space-based to object-based attention. d) subitizing to enumeration. Answer: c Page Ref: 88 9) Egly, Driver, & Rafal had participants look at displays that featured two rectangles (A and B) standing on end, equidistant from a central fixation point. On a given trial, a target stimulus was presented at the top or bottom of one of the rectangles. Prior to the presentation of a target, one of the rectangles was highlighted, indicating that the target position would be within this rectangle. On some trials (invalid trials), the target appeared in the nonhighlighted rectangle. On these key (invalid trials), Egly et al. found that the misleading cue _________, supporting _________. a) slowed reaction time; space-based views of attention b) slowed reaction time; object-based views of attention c) had no effect on reaction time; space-based views of attention d) had no effect on reaction time; object-based views of attention Answer: b Page Ref: 90-91 10) Occasions in which a person’s attention is involuntary drawn to some stimulus are referred to as: a) spotlight attention. b) attentional capture. c) object-based attention. d) sensory attention. Answer: b Page Ref: 91 11) The major independent variable of interest in studies of visual search is: a) the number of items in the visual display. b) RT to make a present-absent judgment. c) accuracy in making the present-absent judgment. d) the size of the visual display. Answer: a Page Ref: 91 12) Looking for Trix in the context of Lucky Charms, Sugar Smacks, and Froot Loops would be an example of _____, and would be ______ than looking for Apple Jacks in the context of these cereals. a) feature search; easier b) feature search; more difficult c) conjunction search; easier d) conjunction search; more difficult
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Chapter 1
Cognitive Psychology: A Brief History and Introduction
Answer: d Page Ref: 92 13) Treisman and Gelade had subjects search through brown T's and green X's, to find targets (blue T's). This is an example of _____, and RT in this condition ____ be influenced by display size. a) feature search; would b) feature search; would not c) conjunction search; would d) conjunction search; would not Answer: b Page Ref: 92 14) According to feature integration theory, visual search is a ____-stage process. a) one b) two c) three d) four Answer: b Page Ref: 93 15) The “pop-out effect” sometimes seen in visual search: a) is indicative of an effortful search. b) is indicative of an inefficient search. c) requires the execution of only the first stage of visual attention, as proposed in Treisman's theory. d) is the result of post-attentive processing. Answer: c Page Ref: 92 16) Feature search is to _____ as conjunction search is to _____. a) post-attentive; pre-attentive b) affected by display size; unaffected by display size c) feature integration; pop-out d) subitizing; enumeration Answer: d Page Ref: 93 17) Evidence indicates that ________ is a stimulus characteristic that invokes pre-attentive detection. a) shape b) brightness c) loudness d) color Answer: d Page Ref: 93 18) Which of the following is an example of a search asymmetry? a) It is easier to declare that a target is present than it is to declare that a target is absent. b) It is easier to declare that a target is present in a smaller display than in a larger display. c) It is easier to find a target that includes a feature than it is to find one that doesn't include the feature. d) It is easier to find a target using conjunction search than it is to find a target using feature search. Answer: c Page Ref: 94 19) How does guided search as proposed by Wolfe differ from feature integration as proposed by Treisman? a) Guided search proposes that the two stages of visual search are related an interactive. b) Guided search proposes three stages in visual search rather than two. c) Guided search proposes that that search is never effortful or post-attentive. d) Guided search proposes that conjunction searches are as efficient as feature searches.
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Chapter 1
Cognitive Psychology: A Brief History and Introduction
Answer: a Page Ref: 94 20) In cases of visual search where targets are rarely present,: a) visual search is especially accurate. b) visual search is surprisingly inaccurate. c) visual search is about the same as it is in cases where targets are occasionally or frequently present. d) visual search is unnecessary. Answer: Page Ref: 21) In their study of low-target prevalence searches, Wolfe, Horowitz, & Kenner found that (incorrect) target-absent responses on critical (target present) trials were _____ target-present responses on these trials. a) faster than b) slower than c) made with about the same speed as d) Participants never made target absent responses on critical trials. Answer: a Page Ref: 96 22) Fleck and Mitroff thought that missing low-prevalence items in visual search might be due to overly fast response, and tested this by presenting visual displays with line drawings of various objects for visual search. They allowed participants to make an additional response (i.e., a correction) if they felt that their just-made response had been in error. Under these conditions: a) the effect of low-prevalence was greatly exaggerated. b) the effect of low-prevalence was greatly reduced. c) nothing changed – low prevalence targets were missed just as much as before. d) the effects of low-prevalence were greater than in Wolfe et al., which featured actual bag-screening displays. Answer: b Page Ref: 96-97 23) The attentional blink is indicated by: a) decreased RT to a second target stimulus, the sooner it occurs after an initial target stimulus. b) decreased RT to a first target stimulus because participants expect it to be followed by a second target. c) increased RT to a second target stimulus, the sooner it occurs after an initial target stimulus. d) increased RT to a first target stimulus because participants expect it to be followed by a second target. Answer: c Page Ref: 98 24) Maratos, Mogg, & Bradley (2008) looked at the attentional blink for faces differing in emotion and found that the attentional blink for _____ faces was ____ than the blink for neutral faces. a) happy; shorter b) happy; longer c) angry; shorter d) angry; longer Answer: c Page Ref: 99 25) In an experiment by Simon and Chabris (1999), participants were to watch people passing a basketball around, and were told to keep track of some activity within the game. What was the distinctive feature of the scene and and what proportion of people failed to notice it? a) During the game, a person in a gorilla suit walked into and out of the scene; almost no one failed to notice. b) During the game, a person in a gorilla suit walked into and out of the scene; nearly half failed to notice. c) A person in a gorilla suit was one of the ball passers; almost no one failed to notice. c) A person in a gorilla suit was one of the ball passers; nearly half failed to notice. Answer: a Page Ref: 100
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Chapter 1
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26) Which of these seems to make it more likely that a visual scene change will be noticed? a) The attention task in which you’re engaged is especially demanding. b) The element that changes is in the periphery of the scene. c) The element that changes is physically similar to the objects being attended. d) There is a mask between the original scene and the changed scene. Answer: c Page Ref: 100-101 27) The tendency to attend to and visually analyze scenes in a particular way is called: a) flicker detection. b) mental focus. c) change blindness. d) perceptual set. Answer: d Page Ref: 101 28) Which of these is an example of a magician's manipulation of attention, from the top-down? a) using a big move to cover a small move b) engaging a participant in an attention-demanding activity, like memorizing the card they just picked c) having a sudden event occur, such as the appearance of a bird d) saying “Abracadabra” before the critical moment Answer: b Page Ref: 102-103 29) Which of these applied problems served as an early inspiration for attention researchers? a) the invention of television b) the information overload problems of WWII pilots c) the invention of the computer d) the early development of cellular telephones Answer: b Page Ref: 104 30) _________ listening is simultaneously listening to two different messages, one in each ear. a) Selective b) Attentive c) Dichotic d) Gateway Answer: c Page Ref: 104 31) What is the purpose of shadowing? a) It is meant to inhibit visual attention. b) It is meant to make it difficult to process the attended message. c) It is meant to simulate as closely as possible how we actually do pay attention. d) It makes sure that the attended message really is attended. Answer: d Page Ref: 105 32) According to an early selection filter theory, if you have an intense phone conversation while a movie is playing on TV, your knowledge of the movie will consist of: a) the physical characteristics of the actor’s voices (i.e., if they were women or men). b) complete semantic knowledge. c) limited semantic knowledge—enough to have a limited idea of the movie’s plot. d) nothing, as you will not be aware at all of the TV. Answer: a Page Ref: 105
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Chapter 1
Cognitive Psychology: A Brief History and Introduction
33) According to the attenuation theory, the cocktail party phenomenon occurs because: a) information that is relevant to the situation has a low threshold for recognition. b) information that is personally relevant to you has a low threshold for recognition. c) hearing this type of information increases arousal which increases the attentional resources enough to recognize your name. d) this information has familiar physical characteristics which makes it “stand out.” Answer: b Page Ref: 106 34) A study by Corteen and Wood (1972) pre-conditioned participants to associate certain words with a mild electric shock. Later, participants performed a dichotic listening task in which the shock-related words were mixed with control words. All words were presented in the unattended channel during dichotic listening. The results indicated that _____, which supported the _______ approach to attention. a) the shock-related words led to variation in autonomic responding; early selection b) the shock-related words led to no variation in autonomic responding; early selection c) the shock-related words led to variation in autonomic responding; late selection d) the shock-related words led to no variation in autonomic responding; late selection Answer: c Page Ref: 106-107 35) Which theory of attention posits that selection occurs after all incoming stimuli have been identified? a) attenuation theory b) late selection theory c) early selection theory d) All theories of attention make this assumption. Answer: b Page Ref: 107-108 36) Which of the following is an assumption of the multimode theory of attention? a) We have control over the use of early- and late-selection modes of attention. b) Late- and early-selection modes require equivalent amounts of attention. c) The early-selection mode requires more attentional resources than the late selection mode. d) The mode of attention in which we engage is involuntary, and automatically switches modes depending on what we’re doing. Answer: a Page Ref: 108 37) According to the multimode theory of attention: a) we pay attention in late-selection mode for easy tasks, and in early-selection mode for difficult tasks. b) early attention is the rule, and late-selection is the exception. c) we can choose to pay attention in either early- or late-selection mode, but early selection is more costly. d) we can choose to pay attention in either early- or late-selection mode, but late selection is more costly. Answer: d Page Ref: 109 38) Selective attention is to divided attention as _______ is to _______. a) limited; unlimited b) one input; many inputs c) capacity; filter d) late selection; early selection Answer: b Page Ref: 110
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39) The time that lapses between the presentation of two stimuli is called: a) stimulus onset asynchrony. b) simple reaction time. c) psychological refractory period. d) psychological reaction time. Answer: a Ref: 110 39) A period of time during which the response to a second stimulus will be significantly slowed because of the processing still occurring on the earlier stimulus is called: a) stimulus onset asynchrony. b) simple reaction time. c) psychological refractory period. d) psychological reaction time. Answer: c Page Ref: 110 40) Olive and Kellogg (2002) had third-graders and college students write persuasive essays. After writing them, they then simply transcribed them. At the same time as these tasks, participants had to listen for auditory probe. Probe reaction time served as a measure of attentional cost for transcribing and writing. The findings indicated that: a) adults incurred more attentional cost than children for both transcribing and writing than did children. b) attentional costs overall were higher for transcribing than for writing. c) adults devoted more attention to writing than transcribing, but children did the opposite. d) all participants incurred more attentional cost when they were writing vs. when they were transcribing. Answer: c Page Ref: 111-112 41) Bottleneck theories of attention: a) propose that there is no such thing as dual-task interference. b) propose that dual-task interference will be more acute with longer SOAs. c) processing of two tasks occurs completely in parallel. d) fail to account for findings from the PRP paradigm. Answer: b Page Ref: 112 42) The notion of capacity as limiting attention has been criticized for being circular in nature. This means that a) the notion of capacity can explain most findings from studies of attention. b) the notion encompasses both early- and late-selection theories, c) limited capacity is used as an explanation of attentional difficulty, and attentional difficulty is used to show evidence of limited capacity. d) it explains our ability to respond to the multiple stimuli that surround us. Answer: c Page Ref: 113-114 43) A study by Correa-Chavez et al. (2005) examined cultural differences in ability to simultaneously or alternately attend to a given situation (origami folding instructions given in a classroom setting). Participants were either from Central and North American countries or from European countries. What was found? a) Central and North Americans were more likely to simultaneously attend; Europeans were more likely to alternate their focus of attention. b) Europeans were more likely to simultaneously attend; Central and North American were more likely to alternate their focus of attention. c) Europeans were faster at learning the origami than the Central and North Americans. d) There were no differences in ability to simultaneously attend, but no one could alternate attention very well. Answer: a Page Ref: 115
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44) Which of these describes the Stroop Effect? a) Naming colors is more difficult than naming other everyday concepts. b) Reading the names of colors is especially difficult if the ink color matches the name of the color. c) Reading the names of colors is especially difficult if the ink color conflicts with the name of the color. d) Naming a color in which a word is printed is especially difficult if the color conflicts with the color name. Answer: d Page Ref: 116 45) Besner et al. presented participants with color words in which only one letter was in a color that conflicted with the color of the word (e.g., the word “red” with the “e” in blue). What happened to the Stroop Effect in this case? a) There was a typical Stroop effect. b) The Stroop effect was still found, but was reduced. c) There was no Stroop effect. d) The researchers found a reverse Stroop effect. Answer: b Page Ref: 117 46) Logan’s (1988) instance-based view of automaticity is that as a task becomes automatic,: a) it uses less and less capacity. b) the procedures we use to carry the task change from algorithm to memory retrieval. c) the procedures that comprise the task are carried out with increasing speed. d) we need fewer and fewer procedures to carry out the same task. Answer: b Page Ref: 118 47) Tronsky’s (2005) study on how automaticity develops in complex multiplication. As subjects did multiplication problems over and over, they were asked to assess the strategy they were using. What happened over time? a) The subjects got tired and simply wrote any number down. b) The subjects continued to calculate the answer to every single problem. c) The more problems the subjects did, the more they got incorrect due to fatigue. d) The subjects stopped actually calculating the answers and simply recalled the correct answer from memory. Answer: d Page Ref: 119 48) I grab the cell phone and (try to) use it to turn up the volume on the TV. What kind of action slip is this? a) description error b) associative activation error c) capture error d) loss of activation error Answer: a Page Ref: 120-121 50) Greg always drinks iced tea with lemon and he always puts one packet of Splenda in it. One late night at Denny’s he orders another type of “brown beverage” — a Diet Coke. The server delivers it, complete with a lemon wedge. Greg grabs a packet of Splenda and dumps it in the Diet Coke. This action slip would be classified as a: a) loss of activation error. b) data driven error. c) capture error. d) description error. Answer: c Page Ref: 120-121
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Chapter 1
Cognitive Psychology: A Brief History and Introduction
51) You set out from your living room to go down to the basement to get something. When you get to the basement, you forget what you have walked down there to get. What kind of action slip is this? a) description error b) associative activation error c) capture error d) loss of activation error Answer: d Page Ref: 120-121 52) You are typing an e-mail while listening to iTunes on your computer. Suddenly you realize that you just typed a few of the lyrics of the song you are listening to instead of what you meant to write. This is a(n): a) loss of activation error. b) data driven error. c) capture error. d) description error. Answer: b Page Ref: 120-121 53) In their investigation of cognitive errors in individuals suffering from work burnout, Van Der Linden, Keisjers, Eling, & Van Schaijk (2005) found that burnout sufferers had ______ rates of cognitive failures relative to those not suffering from burnout; in addition, metacognitive questionnaires indicated that burnout sufferers had ____ metacognitive awareness regarding their error rates. a) higher; good b) higher; poor c) lower; good d) lower; poor Answer: a Page Ref: 121-122 54) The number of empirical investigations of distracted driving (as indicated by a 2010 PsycINFO search) done in the six year period from 2004 to 2010 showed a _____ increase from the six year period from 1998 to 2004. a) 25% b) 75% c) 100% d) 150% Answer: d Page Ref: 123 55) Groeger (1999) provided a framework for considering the possible effects of adding an additional task to driving performance. Dealing with an unexpected detour due to an accident would invoke which level of performance? a) operational b) tactical c) strategic d) maneuvering Answer: c Page Ref: 124 56) Drifting toward the center line while trying to retrieve the cell phone you dropped on the car floor would be an example of a deficit in what level of task, as described by the Groeger (1999) framework? a) operational b) tactical c) strategic d) planning Answer: a Page Ref: 124
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Cognitive Psychology: A Brief History and Introduction
57) Drews, Pasupathi, & Strayer (2008) investigated the impact of cell-phone and in-person conversations at the operational, tactical, and strategic levels of driving performance. They found: a) deficits at both the operational and strategic levels of performance, for both types of conversations. b) deficits at both the operational and strategic levels of performance only for cell phone conversations. c) deficits at both the operational and strategic levels of performance only for in-person conversations. d) no deficits at all, in either conversation condition. Answer: b Page Ref: 125 58) The findings of a study by Drews, Yazdani, Godfrey, Cooper, & Strayer (2010) indicate that texting while driving: a) leads to shorter braking onsets. b) a shorter average following distance. c) more variability in following distance. d) a lowered tendency to inadvertently change lanes. Answer: c Page Ref: 126 59) Chisholm, Caird, & Lockhart (2008) investigated the how the operation of an MP3 player (e.g., an iPod) impacts driving. They also investigated the effects of practice. What did they find? a) Only difficult iPod tasks (e.g., finding a particular song) had a negative effect on driving. b) Only difficult iPod tasks (e.g., finding a particular song) had a negative effect on driving, and the effects diminished with practice. c) Both difficult and easy iPod tasks had a negative effect on driving, and the negative effects of difficult iPod tasks diminished with practice. d) Neither difficult nor easy iPod tasks had a negative effect on driving, Answer: d Page Ref: 127
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Cognitive Psychology: A Brief History and Introduction
ESSAY 1) Describe the basic characteristics of attention. Page Ref: 84-85 2) Distinguish between pre-attentive and post-attentive processing, and relate them to the processes of subitizing and counting. Page Ref: 85-86 3) Distinguish between goal-driven and stimulus-driven attention, and relate them to top-down and bottom-up processing. Page Ref: 88 4) Describe the spotlight metaphor of attention, and how it was demonstrated in the study by Laberge (1983). Name one way in which attention is not like a spotlight. Page Ref: 89 5) How does the notion of object-based attention differ from space-based attention? How did the study by Egly et al. (1994) attempt to distinguish between these two approaches? Page Ref: 90-91 6) Describe what happens in a visual search task. What is the most important variable manipulated in a study of visual search? Page Ref: 92 7) Describe the difference between a feature search and a conjunction search, and how each is influenced by number of distracters in the display. Relate this difference to the basic assumptions of Treisman's feature integration theory. How does Wolfe's model of guided search differ from feature integration theory? Page Ref: 92-94 8) Describe the problems in visual search that arise in conditions of low-target prevalence, and give an example of an applied situation that requires this type of search? Page Ref: 95 9) Describe the attentional blink, and how it may vary with the emotionality of the stimulus? Page Ref: 98-99 10) Define the notion of attentional capture, and relate it to inattentional blindness and change detection (defining each). What do these phenomena imply about visual attention and the factors that affect it? Page Ref: 99-100 11) Give a couple of examples of how magicians manipulate attention, and relate them to top-down and bottom-up processing. Page Ref: 102 12) Compare and contrast the early selection theory, the attenuation theory, and the late-selection theory in terms of the selection process. What are the major differences among these views, and what does each say about the fate of unattended information? Page Ref: 105-107 13) Describe the basic idea behind the multimode theory of attention, and how it differs from the selection approaches. Page Ref: 108-109 14) How is the PRP paradigm used to assess the division of attention? What is the psychological refractory period and what does it tell us about attention? Describe the basic idea behind a bottleneck theory of attention. What
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does it mean to talk about attention as “capacity”? Describe the circularity of this notion. Page Ref: 112-113 15) Describe the Stroop effect, and how it demonstrates the characteristics of automatic processes. What are these characteristics? Page Ref: 116-118 16) Compare and contrast the Schneider and Shiffrin (1977) view of automaticity and the Logan (1988) instancebased view of automaticity. What does each of the views contend has happened once a task has become automatic? Page Ref: 119 17) What are action slips, and how do they demonstrate automatic processing? Name and give examples of two types of action slips. Page Ref: 120-121 18) Discuss some of the evidence of dual-task interference in the context of driving. What are some of the comparisons that have been made, and what types of deficits have been found? Page Ref: 124-126
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CHAPTER 4: IMMEDIATE MEMORY: THE MANIPULATION AND CONTROL OF INFORMATION CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
The Importance of Executive Attention A. Stop and Review II. Immediate Memory: Basic Characteristics A. Limits in Duration B. Limits in Capacity 1. Chunking C. Coding D. Stop and Review III. Theoretical Frameworks for Immediate Memory A. The Modal Model 1. Three Memory Systems a. Evidence for an STM-LTM distinction B. The Working Memory Model 1. The Phonological Loop a. The Effect of Phonological Interference b. The Effect of Word Length c. The Effect of Phonological Similarity d. The Effect of Articulatory Suppression e. The Phonological Loop in the Deaf: An Oxymoron? f. The Phonological Store Reconsidered 2. The Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad 3. The Central Executive 4. The Working Memory Model Reconsidered C. A Unitary View of Memory D. Embedded-Process View E. Something We Can All Agree On: Capacity Limits and Forgetting 1. Capacity Limits Revisited 2. Forgetting a. Decay b. Interference F. Stop and Review IV. Who's the Boss? Problems in Executive Control A. Mind Wandering B. Ironic Processes of Control C. The Effects of Stress D. Improving Executive Attention 1. Attention Training 2. Attention State Training E. Stop and Review
Chapter 4
Attending to and Manipulating Information
STOP AND THINK ELABORATIONS Irrelevant Studying (p. 142) This particular Stop and Think might be good grist for a classroom discussion. Poll the students about the activities in which they engage while studying, and whether anyone studies with absolutely no other auditory or visual input at all. You're likely to find that no one does. You might have students reflect on the relationship between their own habits and how they do in classes. Spanning Immediate Memory Limits (p. 143) This exercise serves as the basis for demonstrating a host of characteristics about immediate memory. You might suggest variations on the standard procedure, such as varying the rate of presentation, or having participants perform some secondary task while attempting to encode the words. You could also have them re-arrange the words (either semantically or “rhythmically”) into chunks and see how this influences span. The exercise will (hopefully) demonstrate proactive interference, as fewer words might be recalled in the latter list; or, some words from the first list may intrude on the latter list. This exercise should also make the relationship between attention and working memory quite clear. As noted by Engle (in the quote that ends the chapter), the direction of attention is the primary function of working memory. Having students specify how each component of the WM system operates for each task will make the complexity of each task quite apparent, and will aid their appreciation of the different sorts of processing (i.e., visual, articulatory, comprehension) in which they are constantly engaged. Hey! Get Back Here! (Mind-Wandering) (p. 161) You might take the opportunity to use class itself as a focus for discussion on this topic. There is no doubt that the classroom is a common site for the mind-wandering discussed in the text. Catch someone in the act of mindwandering during your remarks on mind-wandering. Ask them what they were thinking about, and/or whether it fits the characteristics of mind-wandering as discussed. Take a Deep Attentional Breath — Mindfulness (p. 170) Variations on this exercise might be to have students turn off their technology or unplug for some period of time, and perhaps devote a given period of time to silence and contemplation. Students find this type of exercise liberating (after initial anxiety and skepticism), and may gain some insights about attention.
DISCUSSION STARTERS Chunking and Expertise: In Chapter 12, students will read about expertise, and some of the advantages in cognitive processing enjoyed by experts in a given domain (one of which is working-memory processing). You might use this as an opportunity to introduce the concept of expertise, and survey your students for areas of expertise, as well as whatever working memory strategies they might use. Working Memory in the Classroom: You might consider having students reflect on the likely operation of each of the working memory components while they're in class. Ask them what the central executive is responsible for, and how it uses the articulatory loop and visuo-spatial sketchpad. Benefits and Costs of “Mindlessness”: You might relate the concept of automaticity to the converse concept of “mindfulness” (popularized by social psychologist Ellen Langer), and talk more about the costs of doing things automatically, and how it impacts the manner in which we interact with others, and the way we go about our daily tasks. Have them take and defend a stand on whether automatic processing is truly a good thing (or when it is and when it isn't).
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Instructor Resources for Cognitive Psychology
INTERNET RESOURCES Researchers, Institutes, and Labs Nelson Cowan (University of Missouri) http://memory.psych.missouri.edu/ Jon Smallwood (University of Aberdeen) http://themindwanders.com/jonny-smallwood/ Karen Emmorey (San Diego State University) http://emmoreylab.sdsu.edu/ Randall Engle (Georgia Tech) http://www.psychology.gatech.edu/renglelab/ John Jonides (University of Michigan) http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jjonides/ Brad Postle (University of Wisconsin) http://psych.wisc.edu/postlab/ Yi-Yuan Tang (Dalian University of Technology/University of Oregon) http://www.yi-yuan.net/english/tyy.asp Tools of Mind Curriculum http://www.mscd.edu/extendedcampus/toolsofthemind/?1137Nav=|&NodeID=171
Working Memory Demos http://www.psychology.uiowa.edu/faculty/luck/lucklab/samples/wmdemo.html http://www.gocognitive.net/demo/working-memory-capacity http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/stm0.html http://www.intelligencetest.com/stmemory/games/
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Chapter 4
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TEST ITEMS MULTIPLE CHOICE 1) The function of working memory whereby we strategically direct our attention is called: a) working attention. b) sensory attention. c) executive attention. d) focus of attention. Answer: c Page Ref: 130 2) Conway, Cowan, and Bunting (2001) conducted an experiment that looked at working memory capacity and the cocktail party phenomenon. What did they find? a) People who had more common names were less susceptible to the cocktail party phenomenon. b) People who had less common names were less susceptible to the cocktail party phenomenon. c) People with lower working memory capacity were less susceptible to the cocktail party phenomenon. d) People with higher working memory capacity were less susceptible to the cocktail party phenomenon. Answer: d Page Ref: 130 3) The operation span task: a) is a measure of visual attention. b) requires that participants memorize a series of numbers. c) requires participants to perform three tasks concurrently. d) requires attentional control and inhibition. Answer: d Page Ref: 131 4) Based on the notion of executive control as inhibition, you would expect _____ Stroop interference in participants with a high operation span. This assumption ____ supported by the empirical evidence. a) less; is b) less; is not c) more; is d) more; is not Answer: a Page Ref: 132 5) The Brown-Peterson task has been used to show that the duration of short-term memory is about: a) 5 seconds. b) 20 seconds. c) 1 minute. d) 30 minutes. Answer: b Page Ref: 134 6) Someone introduces themselves to you at a party, and then you go across the room to get drinks for the two of you, and you don’t think about the person’s name. What is the maximum amount of time your trip to the bar could take, so that when you get back to the person, you’d still know their name? a) 20 seconds b) 5 seconds c) 1 minute d) 5 minutes Answer: a Page Ref: 134
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Instructor Resources for Cognitive Psychology
7) The well-known limit on immediate memory — the “magic number 7 + 2” — was proposed by: a) George Miller b) William James c) Randall Engle d) Atkinson and Shiffrin Answer: a Page Ref: 134 8) The longest string of information (e.g., numbers, letters) that a person can immediately recall is called the person’s: a) short term store. b) sensory memory. c) retention interval. d) memory span. Answer: d Page Ref: 134 6) The classic measure used to assess immediate memory capacity limits is termed: a) the Stroop task. b) memory span. c) the Brown-Peterson task. d) the juggling task. Answer: b Page Ref: 134 7) The most conservative estimate of the limits on immediate memory is: a) 1 or 2. b) 3 or 4. c) 7. d) 9. Answer: b Page Ref: 135 8) Chunking in immediate memory: a) is affected by the rate at which the information is presented. b) demonstrates that STM is a separate memory location. c) is independent of previous experience with the stimuli. d) allows you to expand the duration of STM by 30 seconds. Answer: a Page Ref: 135 9) The dominant mode of coding in immediate memory is: a) visual imagery. b) auditory coding. c) tactile coding. d) spatial coding. Answer: a Page Ref: 135 10) Brooks (1968) investigated how people use verbal and visual/spatial processing during recall from immediate memory. He found that: a) immediate memory processing was easiest when two concurrent tasks were both verbal. b) immediate memory processing was easiest when two concurrent tasks were both visual/spatial. c) immediate memory processing was easiest when two concurrent tasks used different processing. d) memory span was influenced only when information was presented verbally. Answer: c Page Ref: 136
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11) The modal model of memory: a) proposes two stages of memory processing. b) is a connectionist model. c) is a complex model of immediate memory. d) is an information processing model. Answer: d Page Ref: 137-138 12) All of these are different types of memory storage in the modal model conceptualized by Atkinson and Shiffrin except for: a) short-term memory. b) long-term memory. c) sensory memory. d) semantic memory. Answer: d Page Ref: 138 13) __________ is the initial storage system, referring to a brief representation of a just-presented stimulus. a) Short-term memory b) Long-term memory c) Sensory memory d) Semantic memory Answer: c Page Ref: 137 14) The serial position effect refers to the finding that: a) memory is particularly good for items in the middle of a list. b) memory is particularly good for items at the beginning and at the end of a list. c) memory is particulary good for items at the beginning of a list but poor for items at the end. d) memory is particulary poor for items at the beginning of a list but good for items at the end. Answer: c Page Ref: 139 15) Historically, the serial position effect has been used as evidence for the Atkinson-Shiffrin model. What is the hypothetical relationship between STM/LTM stores and the effects of serial position on recall? a) STM is proposed as the basis for the primacy effect, and LTM as the basis for the recency effect. b) STM is proposed as the basis for the recency effect, and LTM as the basis for the primacy effect. c) Both STM and LTM are proposed as the bases for primacy effects. d) Both STM and LTM are proposed as the bases for primacy effects. Answer: b Page Ref: 139 16) Amnesic H.M. demonstrated ______, while amnesic K. F. demonstrated ______. These patterns, in combination, provide strong evidence _____ a distinction between STM and LTM. a) intact LTM and poor STM; intact STM and poor LTM; for b) intact LTM and poor STM; intact STM and poor LTM; against c) intact STM and poor LTM; intact LTM and poor STM; for c) intact STM and poor LTM; intact LTM and poor STM; against Answer: b Page Ref: 139-40 17) Baddeley proposes all of these components in his model of working memory except: a) the visuo-spatial sketchpad. b) the phonological loop. c) sensory memory. d) the central executive.
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Instructor Resources for Cognitive Psychology
Answer: c Page Ref: 140 18) Who is the ‘boss’ of short term memory, supervising the operations of the other subsystems? a) central executive b) visuo-spatial sketchpad c) episodic buffer d) articulatory loop Answer: a Page Ref: 140 19) The most investigated component of Baddeley's working memory model is: a) the visuo-spatial sketchpad. b) the central executive. c) sensory memory. d) the phonological loop. Answer: d Page Ref: 141 20) When irrelevant information is presented during the encoding of other material: a) it has no effect, as long as it's irrelevant. b) it enhances the processing of information in the phonological loop. c) it negatively impacts processing because it occupies the phonological loop. d) it negatively impacts processing by preventing use of visual processing Answer: c Page Ref: 141 21) The _____ words take to pronounce, the ______ of them can be held in STM. a) less time; more b) more time; more c) less time; less d) more time; less Answer: a Page Ref: 143 22) Which of these sequences would be the most difficult to keep track of in STM? a) 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4 b) B, P, Z, D, E, T, C, c) 1, 9, 2, 3, 9, 4, 0, 7 d) M, W, O, X, A, F, N, U Answer: b Page Ref: 143 23) What happens to the phonological similarity effect and the word length effect if you do an articulatory suppression task while encoding an STM load? a) Both effects get more pronounced. b) Both effects go away. c) The phonological similarity effect goes away and the word length effect gets more pronounced. d) The word length effect goes away and the phonological similarity effect gets more pronounced. Answer: b Page Ref: 143-144
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24) An experiment by Wilson and Emmorey (1998) gave deaf participants signs that were long, trying to mimic words that are long in length (have many letters) to see if they would find a ‘word length’ effect. What happened in the experiment? a) There was no difference in memory for long signs or short signs. They were remembered the same. b) Recall was better for nouns over verbs, regardless of length of the signing motion. c) Recall was better for action words and verbs, regardless of the signing motion. d) Recall was worse for long signs, just as it is for words that are long in length. Answer: d Page Ref: 145 25) Several researchers have examined how well deaf participants remember signs, just as listeners remember words they hear. In listening, words that sound alike are less likely to be remembered. What happens with American Sign Language? a) Signs that are close in meaning, regardless of motion involved in the sign, are less likely to be recalled. b) Signs whose words sound the same if said aloud are less likely to be recalled, regardless of motion involved in the sign. c) Signs that are made up of similar motions are less likely to be recalled. d) There is no sign length effect—all signs were remembered equally well. Answer: c Page Ref: 145 26) Deaf individuals: a) show effects of similarity, but not word length. b) have no articulatory loop at all. c) show effects of word length, but not similarity. d) show effects of word length and similarity, just like hearing individuals. Answer: d Page Ref: 144-145 27) Acheson, Postle, and MacDonald assessed memory span as a function of word concreteness and phonological similarity. The found the expected phonological similarity effect and this effect _____ as a function of word concreteness, which provides evidence _____ the notion of a phonological store. a) varied; against b) varied; for c) did not vary; against d) did not vary; for Answer: a Page Ref: 146 28) A study by Della Sala, Gray, Baddeley, Allamano, and Wilson (1999) revealed that visual and spatial components of working memory ______ separated empirically. The spatial aspect of WM was tested by having participants perform the ______. a) could be; Visual Pattern Test (VPT) b) could not be; Visual Pattern Test (VPT) c) could be; Corsi Blocks test d) could not be; Corsi Blocks test Answer: a Page Ref: 147-148 29) Which component of working memory serves as the ‘gatekeeper’ or ‘capacity allocator’ for the attentional system? a) visuo-spatial sketchpad b) episodic buffer c) articulatory loop d) central executive Answer: d Page Ref: 148
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30) The function of working memory whereby we control the allocation of attention is called: a) working attention. b) sensory attention. c) executive attention. d) the focus of attention. Answer: c Page Ref: 148 31) Baddeley himself referred to which component of working memory as a “conceptual ragbag” because so many functions and processes get “thrown into it”? a) visuo-spatial sketchpad b) episodic buffer c) articulatory loop d) central executive Answer: d Page Ref: 148 32) Baddeley proposed that the functions of the central executive might be better specified through what he termed _____ of the central executive. a) delineation b) fractionation c) dissociation d) separation Answer: b Page Ref: 149 42) Baddeley added a fourth component to his original model that attempts to account for the influence of relevant information from long term memory within working memory. This component is called the: a) visuo-spatial sketchpad. b) episodic buffer. c) articulatory loop. d) central executive. Answer: b Page Ref: 150 43) Dissociations within the components of working memory proposed by Baddeley _____, which tends to _____ the theory. a) have not been found; support b) have not been found; undermine c) have been found; support d) have been found undermine Answer: b Page Ref: 151 44) Which area of the brain is involved in encoding novel relations among objects and events, and may thus explain amnesic patterns of memory deficit and preservation? a) the prefrontal cortex b) Broca's area c) the medial temporal lobe d) the hippocampus Answer: c Page Ref: 152
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45) The embedded process view of STM: a) is a unitary view. b) is a multi-store view. c) is a hybrid view. d) proposes no capacity limits in immediate memory. Answer: c Page Ref: 153 46) Decay theories of forgetting have been criticized on the grounds that they are merely descriptive. In the same way that time doesn't cause metal to rust (oxidation does), time doesn't cause forgetting. What is one proposal for the “oxidation” equivalent in decay (i.e., the actual mechanism that leads to forgetting)? a) loss of brain cells b) inhibitory activity in neurons c) interfering neural connections getting stronger d) neurons getting out of sync due to lack of retrieval Answer: d Page Ref: 154 47) The case where later information interferes with the ability to retain information that occurred earlier is called: a) anterograde amnesia. b) retroactive interference. c) proactive interference. d) retrograde amnesia. Answer: b Page Ref: 155 48) If I get a list of three weapons, and try to recall them, and then get another list of three weapons, and try to recall them, and then yet another list of three items and try to recall them, what is likely to happen? a) You will recall the lists more easily as you go on, due to practice effects. b) You will recall the list more easily as you go on, because they all represent the same concept (weapons). c) You will get worse at recalling the lists, due to retroactive interference. d) You will get worse at recalling the lists, due to proactive interference. Answer: d Page Ref: 157 49) You recently got a new cell phone, and have had a great time learning how to use the camera and text messaging features. One day you forget your phone, and ask to use your friend’s phone to send a text message. You think it will be easy, as your friend has the exact same phone as your old phone. However, you find you have a great deal of difficulty remembering how to do this. This memory problem is caused by: a) retroactive interference. b) proactive interference. c) decay. d) lack of capacity to remember all the information. Answer: a Page Ref: 157 50) Wickens et al. (1976) conducted an experiment using the Brown Peterson task. People were given a short list of words, all from the same category, then counted backwards for a few seconds and were asked to recall the list. They did this three times—and after each time, the recall of the list got worse. On the last trial, the participants were given a list of words from a different category to study, but were then asked to recall the words from the first category. How was the recall on this trial? a) It was as bad as before: it did not get worse, it did not get better. b) It was the worst yet. c) Recall actually improved on this trial over prior trials. d) Participants were confused about the instructions and refused to answer. Answer: c Page Ref: 157
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51) Mind-wandering: a) requires no mental effort. b) is associated with increased awareness of the surrounding environment. c) rarely occurs in daily life. d) usually occurs without intention. Answer: d Page Ref: 160 52) Andrade (2009) investigated the impact of doodling on attention and performance during a monotonous task. In her study: a) doodlers recalled intentionally encoded material better, but were worse at recalling incidentally obtained info. b) doodlers recalled incidentally obtained material better, but were worse at recalling intentionally encoded info. c) doodlers were better than controls at recalling both intentionally learned and incidentally obtained info. d) doodlers were worse than controls at recalling both intentionally learned and incidentally obtained info. Answer: d Page Ref: 161 53) Wegner (1994) has a term for a situation in which we are concentrating so hard to avoid making an action that we actually encourage that action! For example, we are concentrating so hard to NOT miss catching a ground ball hot towards us, that when the ball gets to our position, we miss it entirely. What does he call this? a) an action slip b) ironic effects c) mistaken actions d) operator errors Answer: b Page Ref: 162 54) According to Wegner and his colleagues, the ironic effects of thought suppression: a) are more likely to occur when attention is overloaded. b) occur because of the failure of an ironic monitoring process. c) can be explained by a three-factor theory of cognitive control. d) occur because the intentional operating process operates too efficiently. Answer: a Page Ref: 162 55) Wegner, Anisfield, and Pilloff (1998) had participants putt a golf ball, and gave a specific instruction not to overshoot the hole. Some subjects were given a six-digit number to hold in mind while they made the putt (they had to report the series of digits after). Others were simply asked to putt. What happened? a) All participants showed an increased likelihood of overshooting relative to a condition where overshooting was never mentioned. b) All participants showed an increased likelihood of undershooting relative to a condition where overshooting was never mentioned. c) Participants holding digits in mind showed an increased likelihood of overshooting relative to a condition in which overshooting was never mentioned. d) Participants holding digits in mind showed a decreased likelihood of overshooting relative to a condition in which overshooting was never mentioned. Answer: c Page Ref: 163 56) What are the effects of stressors on working memory? a) Both physiological and mental stressors enhance executive attention. b) Both physiological and mental stressors disrupt executive attention c) Physiological stress enhances executive attention, while psychological stress disrupts executive attention. d) Psychological stress enhances executive attention, while physiological stress disrupts executive attention. Answer: b Page Ref: 164
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57) Experience in media multi-tasking is associated with: a) no change in the ability to control attention. b) an increased ability to control attention. c) a decreased ability to control attention. Answer: c Page Ref: 165 58) Diamond, Barnett, Thomas, and Munro (2007) designed the Tools of Mind curriculum to train three key features of executive function, including three of the following. Which of these was not included? a) inhibitory control b) immediate memory c) cognitive flexibility d) visual-spatial processing Answer: d Page Ref: 167 59) According to Berman, Jonides, and Kaplan (2008), exposure to nature captures ______ attention, allowing ______ attention to refresh. a) top-down; bottom-up b) bottom-up; top-down c) divided; selective d) selective; divided Answer: b Page Ref: 168 60) All of these qualify as attention state training techniques except for: a) the Tools of Mind curriculum. b) meditation. c) exposure to nature. d)integrative mind-body training (IBMT). Answer: c Page Ref: 168-170
ESSAY 1) Define the notion of executive attention, and relate it to (a) operation span (b) speech shadowing and the cocktail party phenomenon, and (c) the Stroop effect. Page Ref: 130-132 2) Discuss the duration of immediate memory, and how it is assessed with the Brown-Peterson task. Page Ref: 133-134 3) Discuss the limits in capacity observed in immediate memory, and how chunking can influence processing in immediate memory processing. What factors influence chunking? Page Ref 134-135. 4) In what ways can information be coded in immediate memory, and what form seems dominant? Describe what the Brooks (1968) study revealed about the combination of verbal and visual coding in immediate memory. Page Ref: 135-136. 5) Discuss the major assumptions of the modal model of immediate memory, and give some evidence for its main assumption: the distinction between STM and LTM. Page Ref: 137-140
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6) Discuss the basic approach of Baddeley's working memory model, and briefly describe each of its three main components. Page Ref: 140 7) Describe the phonological loop, and discuss the effect of phonological interference, as demonstrated by the irrelevant speech effect. Page Ref 140-141 8) Describe the effects of phonological similarity and word-length on working memory, and why these effects occur. Define articulatory suppression and explain its effect on working memory and these phenomena. Discuss how research with deaf individuals reveals the phonological loop to be more than strictly auditory. Page Ref: 142-146 9) Describe the visuo-spatial sketchpad, and discuss the subcomponents of which it is comprised. Page Ref: 147 10) Describe the central executive, and some problems with the construct. What precise functions might the executive serve ? Page Ref: 149-150 11) What are some of the arguments against Baddeley's multi-component view? What are the basic assumptions of (a) the unitary approach to memory and (b) the embedded process view of memory? Page Ref : 151-153 12) What are the two primary mechanisms proposed to describe the loss of information from immediate memory? For each of the two mechanisms, describe more precisely what specific mechanisms might account for loss of information. Page Ref: 154-155 13) Describe the basic characteristics of mind-wandering and why it might be construed as a failure of executive control. Page Ref: 159-160 14) Discuss the components in Wegner’s (1994) two-factor theory of cognitive control. Which of the processes is conscious? Which is unconscious? How do ironic effects arise? Page Ref: 162-163 15) Describe the research conducted by Ophir, Nass, & Wagner (2009) and what it suggests about the executive attention of those who frequently multi-task. Page Ref: 164-165 16) Describe the difference between attention training and attention state training. Give an example of each approach, and comment on how they might help attention. Page Ref: 166-169
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CHAPTER 5: OBJECTS AND CONCEPTS: IDENTIFYING AND CLASSIFYING INFORMATION CHAPTER OUTLINE
I.
Identification and Classification: An Overview A. Recognizing from the Bottom Up and the Top Down B. Object Recognition 1. Effects of Context C. Theories of Visual Object Recognition 1. Parts-Based (PB) Approach 2. Image-Based (IB) Approach 3. Object Recognition: Parts or Images? D. Non-Visual Recognition 1. Tactile Recognition 2. Olfactory Recognition E. Stop and Review II. Face Recognition A. Face Inversion 1. The Thatcher Illusion B. Holistic Processing C. Is Face Recognition Special? D. Individual Differences 1. Gender 2. Culture E. Self-Recognition F. Retrieving Names of Faces: Person Recognition 1. Serial and Parallel Accounts G. Stop and Review III. Networks and Concepts: The Classification Database A. Semantic Networks B. Concepts and Categories 1. Functions of Concepts 2. Categories as a Concept C. Similarity-Based Categorization 1. The Classical View a. Problems with the Classical View 2. The Prototype Approach a. Problems with the Prototype Approach 3. The Exemplar Approach a. Problems with the Exemplar Approach D. Essentialist Approach: Concepts as Theories 1. Biological Essentialism
Instructor Resources for Cognitive Psychology
STOP AND THINK ELABORATIONS Exploring EPs (p. 184) This is a useful exercise for getting students to appreciate the incredible sophistication of hand movements, and the systematic manner in which they play themselves out. Have students compare the movements they observe to the characteristics noted by Klatzky and Lederman (discussed in the text). You might also have them try to note any movements not listed as one of the standard EPs. Face It! Priorities in Face Recognition (p. 190) Evolutionary psychology continues to be an active and cutting edge perspective in all areas of psychology. This Stop and Think will force students to think about why faces are special, and what aspects of them are particularly important. You might also have them try to come up with ways to empirically assess the characteristics that might make faces special. Representing Concepts (p. 210) This exercise is designed to get students to reflect on the “intuitive validity” of the different approaches to concept representation (and you could point out that intuitive validity isn't necessarily reflective of how concepts are actually represented). We’ve found that most students tend to bring specific examples of concepts to mind, in the spirit of what the exemplar approach proposes. Students might also notice that the particular example they think of is sensitive to the contextual factors noted (i.e., recency, semantic context). The Golden Oreo? (p. 213) This exercise is designed to get students to appreciate just how sophisticated concepts really are, and how difficult it is for a similarity-based approach to capture the coherence of a concept. Explaining how the examples listed above cohere requires more than just a listing of features, best examples, or specific instances. It seems to require an explanation. Although this may provide some intuitive support for explanation-based views, this view is not without its problems. As we note in the text, where do we draw the line between our representation of a concept, and all of the knowledge we have about the concept? This exercise will help students see that this is indeed a fuzzy boundary.
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DISCUSSION STARTERS Computers, Humans, and Pattern Recognition: The wonder of pattern recognition is often lost on us until we really think about what's being accomplished, and how difficult it is to design a machine to accomplish it. No computer vision software (or speech recognition software) can come close to the speed, efficiency, and accuracy of human pattern recognition. Ask students if they have any experience with pattern recognition software (several have probably encountered speech recognition software), and have them relate the myriad problems that they experienced. Bottom-Up and Top-Down Processing Your Environment. Recognizing patterns is a matter of both bottom-up processes (the processing of data) and top-down processes (bringing previous knowledge and context to bear on the data). Have students consider patterns they view everyday, and think about (a) the data that comprise them — what are the component elements that allow you to know what the thing is? — and (2) the contextual elements in the scene that may be aiding your recognition — What it is about the situation they're in that aids in identifying the patterns they see? Spotting Geons Have students look around the classroom, at all of the various objects they are able to easily identify. Have them think about the following questions: • How many basic parts (i.e., geonlike parts) make up each object? • How do the objects break down into component parts? • Also note whether anything in your field of view is difficult to identify. • Is the object at an odd angle? Is most of it blocked? • Are geons unidentifiable? • Are there any objects that seem indistinguishable? • Does it seem like orientation would influence your ability to recognize any of these objects? Familiarity and Recognition: To get students to appreciate further the distinction between top-down and bottom-up processing, have them attempt to generate all of the “standard scenes” they can (i.e., classroom scene, farm scene, living-room scene), and reflect on how these scene contexts aid in the identification of scene components. High School Yearbook: Another striking example of success in visual recognition is our ability to recognize faces from our past. A study by Bruck, Cavanaugh, & Ceci (1991) demonstrates that people recognize faces from their high school class at a strikingly high rate, even 25 years after graduation! Have students do this exercise with their yearbooks; this may produce near-perfect levels of recognition. Ask students to discuss the possible reasons for this astounding pattern recognition success. (Bruck, M., Cavanaugh, P., & Ceci, SJ (1991). Fortysomething: Recognizing faces at a 25th reunion. Memory and Cognition, 19, 221-228.) Difficulty with Names: Although we are incredibly good at simply recognizing faces as familiar, we are often quite less than incredibly good at retrieving names to go with the faces. Name retrieval tends to be fairly poor, and leads to frequent “tip of the tongue” experiences. Ask students to go back to their yearbooks and attempt to name names, and to take note of how many retrieval successes and failures they have. Do they experience the “tip-of-the-tongue” state? Ask them to reflect on why name retrieval is so difficult. Family Feud: The popular game show Family Feud (still running, with its 6th different host) is a great example of (mostly) ad hoc category formation. In the show, contestants have to guess which members of some category were most frequently mentioned by a polled sample of 100 respondents. For example, “Name something that, if lost, causes a man to panic” (popular answers: keys, hair). You might go to YouTube for a clip of the game, or purchase the “home version” of the game, and play it in class, as a way to demonstrate the ubiquitous nature of categorization, and the fluid nature of categorization.
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INTERNET RESOURCES Researchers, Institutes, and Organizations Irving Biederman http://geon.usc.edu/~biederman/ Doug Medin http://www.wcas.northwestern.edu/psych/people/faculty/faculty_individual_pages/Medin.htm Isabel Gauthier http://gauthier.psy.vanderbilt.edu/ Julian Keenan http://www.cogneurolab.com/index.html Deborah Prentice http://weblamp.princeton.edu/~psych/psychology/research/prentice/ Michael Tarr http://tarrlab.cnbc.cmu.edu/ Prosopagnosia Research Center http://www.faceblind.org/ Psycholinguistics and Vision Science Laboratory (Michigan State) http://eyelab.msu.edu
Miscellaneous Informational Sites Vision Science links page http://www.visionscience.com/
COGBLOGS Blind People Perceive Touch Faster Than Those With Sight http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101026172021.htm Objectifying Obama http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-object-attention/201010/objectifying-obama The Vision Thing http://mindhacks.com/2010/10/27/the-vision-thing-2/ Motor imagery enhances object recognition http://scienceblogs.com/neurophilosophy/2010/07/motor_imagery_enhances_object_recognition What Makes a Face Look Alive? Study Says It's in the Eyes http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101220130939.htm Psychologists Find Skill in Recognizing Faces Peaks After Age 30 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101221154528.htm
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TEST ITEMS MULTIPLE CHOICE 1) Of the three categories, “fruit,” “pear,” and “Bartlett pear,” the category “Bartlett pear” is a: a) family-resemblance category. b) superordinate level category. c) basic level category. d) subordinate level category. Answer: d Page Ref: 172 2) Which of these is a basic level category member? a) tool b) apple c) vehicle d) red-winged blackbird Answer: b Page Ref: 172 3) Consider your recognition of the letter “A” in this particular letter sequence: “ANT” Which of these statements describes the role of bottom-up processes? a) Your knowledge of the word “ant” facilitates recognition. b) Seeing a picture of an ant while looking at the word ant might facilitate recognition of the letter. c) Seeing the word “ant” in a sentence would facilitate your recognition of the “A”. d) You recognize the letter “A” because of the two slanted lines and cross-line. Answer: d Page Ref: 173 4) We tend to think in terms of and talk about: a) basic level categories. b) superordinate categories. c) subordinate categories. d) category hierarchies. Answer: a Page Ref: 172 5) In experiments done by Biderman and his colleagues, they used a priming technique to investigate the effect of orientation on object recognition. In phase 2 of the experiment, they found that: a) reaction time was faster for both same and different objects from phase 1. b) reaction time was faster only for the same objects as presented in phase 1. c) reaction time was slower for different objects than were presented in phase 1. d) the most important effect was that the degree of rotation affected ability to recognize objects. Answer: a Page Ref: 175 6) The effects context, or a background scene, has on recognizing objects is that: a) no context makes it easier to recognize objects. b) an inconsistent scene makes it easier to recognize the object. c) a consistent scene makes it easier to recognize the object. d) subjects are consistently misled by the scene. Answer: c Page Ref 175
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7) Davenport and Potter (2004) examined the effects of context on recognition of objects. They found that: a) objects were recognized most easily when they were not presented in a background scene. b) foreground objects were more easily identified than background objects. c) background objects were more easily identified than foreground objects. d) there was a weak effect of consistency between the object and the background scene. Answer: b Page Ref: 176 8) The ________ approaches to object recognition might also be termed feature analysis, and propose that recognition ________ depend on the particular perspective we have on the object to be recognized. a) image-based; does b) image-based; does not c) parts-based; does d) parts-based; does not Answer: d Page Ref: 177-178 9) In parts-based approaches to object recognition: a) the identification of the object is viewpoint dependent. b) the whole image of the object is examined holistically. c) the representation stored in memory is analogous to the object being recognized. d) the orientation or the perspective of view on the object is not important. Answer: d Page Ref: 178 10) According to the recognition-by-components theory, which of the following should make an object more difficult to identify? a) The object is rotated. b) The object is inverted. c) The object is obscured in such a way that detection of its component parts is prevented. d) The object changes color. Answer: c Page Ref: 179 11) How many basic geons comprise the objects we recognize on a day-to-day basis, according to Biederman? a) 6 b) 16 c) 36 d) 76 Answer: c Page Ref: 179 12) One problem with the early approach to pattern recognition termed template matching is that: a) it seems unreasonable to assume that a matching process underlies recognition. b) template matching can only explain the recognition of objects. c) the mechanism of template matching seems too rigid to account for fast and accurate recognition. d) template matching doesn't explain why recognition might suffer if our view of something is obscured. Answer: c Page Ref: 180 13). In image-based approaches to object recognition: a) objects are recognized holistically through comparison with a stored analog representation. b) identification of the object is viewpoint independent. c) a rotated image can be recognized just as quickly as an image in its normal orientation. d) an object must first be broken down into components. Answer: a Page Ref: 180
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14) The modern approach to visual recognition that retains the spirit of the earlier template approach is: a) the parts-based approach. b) recognition-by-components view. c) the multiple views approach. d) top-down processing. Answer: c Page Ref: 181 15) One resolution of the image-based vs. view-based object recognition debate is that we: a) use view-based mechanisms to make gross discriminations, and parts-based mechanisms to make finer ones. b) use parts-based mechanisms to make gross discriminations, and view-based mechanisms to make finer ones. c) use view-based mechanisms unless we need to recognize objects quickly; then we use parts-based mechanisms. d) use parts-based mechanisms unless we need to recognize objects quickly; then we use view-based mechanisms. Answer: b Page Ref: 182 17) The exploratory procedures in haptic exploration identified by Klatzky, Lederman and Metzger (1975) include all of these except: a) static contact. b) unsupported lifting. c) rubbing. d) pressure. Answer: c Page Ref: 183-184 18) Research on haptic exploration and exploratory procedures reveals that: a) the longer EPs take, the less breadth they have. b) material properties of objects (e.g., temperature) are easier to ascertain than geometric properties (e.g., shape). c) the most informative exploratory procedure is static contact. d) tactile object recognition is faster than visual object recognition. Answer: d Page Ref: 183-184 19) The olfactory-verbal gap is: a) the inability of people to label an odor given a choice of labels. b) the ability of people to name similar odors. c) the indirect connection of olfaction and verbal labels, through an emotional process. d) the difficulty people have in correctly identifying odors. Answer: d Page Ref: 184 20) Feelings-of-knowing are an index of _______, and are generally ______. a) metacognition; accurate b) metacognition; inaccurate c) perceptual skill; accurate d) perceptual skill; inaccurate Answer: b Page Ref: 185 21) Prosopagnosia refers to: a) an inability to identify smells. b) an inability to recognize familiar faces. c) an inability to recognize common objects. d) an inability to detect objects in one particular area of one's visual field.
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Answer: b Page Ref: 186 22) The face inversion effect: a) is the difficulty people have in recognizing upside-down faces. b) uses first-order relational information to allow people to recognize upside-down faces. c) allows people to recognize which faces are distorted, even when they are upside-down. d) builds up over time, through practice trials. Answer: a Page Ref: 186-187 23) Diamond and Carey (1986) propose that we need second-order relational information to recognize faces. This type of information: a) is about the parts of the face (such as nose, ears) and how those parts relate to each other. b) involves noticing that two eyes are above a nose, which is above a mouth. c) involves comparing first-order relational information to the facial features of a “typical” face. d) helps us recognize faces in whatever orientation they are presented to us. Answer: c Page Ref: 187 24) The experiment by Tanaka and Farah that compared recognition of faces and objects (e.g., houses) demonstrated that: a) both faces and houses tend to be recognized holistically rather than based on features. b) both faces and houses tend to be recognized based on features rather than holistically. c) faces tend to be recognized holistically and houses tend to be recognized based on features. d) faces tend to be recognized based on features and houses tend to be recognized holistically. Answer: c Page Ref: 188 25) The mechanisms involved in face recognition: a) seem akin to those proposed by the image-based views of object recognition. b) seem akin to those proposed by the parts-based views of object recognition. c) are not disrupted by face rotation. d) seem to operate at a level similar to the basic level of categorization. Answer: a Page Ref: 189 26) The entry point for the recognition of objects is the _____ level; the entry point for the recognition of faces is the _____. a) basic; basic b) basic; individual c) subordinate; basic d) individual; basic Answer: b Page Ref: 189 27) McBain, Norton, & Chen (2009) investigated whether female superiority in recognizing facial emotions was indicative of superior face recognition in general. Their results indicated that: a) females were superior in the recognition of both objects and faces. b) females were superior, but only for faces, and only for very brief exposure times. c) females were superior, but only for faces, at all exposure times. d) females were superior, but only for trees, at all exposure times. Answer: c Page Ref: 191
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28) Blais, Jack, Scheepers, Fiset, and Caldara (2008) investigated cross-cultural differences (Western Caucasian vs. East Asian) in face recognition, and found that: a) East Asians were superior in face recognition. b) Western Caucasians were superior in face recognition. c) East Asians tended to focus on the eyes and surrounding areas, Western Caucasians on the nose region. d) Western Caucasians tended to focus on the eyes and surrounding areas, East Asians on the nose region. Answer: c Page Ref: 191 29) Keenan, McCutcheon, Freund, Gallup, Sanders, & Pascual-Leone (1999) investigated self-recognition by showing a “face movie” in which the participant’s face gradually morphed into that of a celebrity. Participants were instructed to respond at the point where the morph seemed to resemble their face more than the celebrity’s. Responses were faster when made with the ______ hand, indicating a _____ hemisphere advantage in self-recognition. a) left; left b) left; right c) right; right d) right; left Answer: b Page Ref: 193 30) When faced with a picture of someone, which of these is most difficult? a) recognizing that the face is someone familiar b) retrieving the person's name c) retrieving a piece of biographical information about the person d) All information about faces is retrieved with about an equal level of difficulty. Answer: b Page Ref: 195 31) The Bruce and Young model is to the interactive activation and competition (IAC) model as: a) name recognition is to face recognition. b) face-recognition unit is to semantic information unit. c) serial is to parallel. d) David Letterman is to Michael Jackson. Answer: c Page Ref: 195-196 32) Asking a series of questions like “Is a van a vehicle?” is called a ________ task; the primary dependent measure of interest in this task is ________. a) priming; RT b) priming; accuracy c) category verification; RT d) category verification; accuracy Answer: c Page Ref: 199 33) One similarity between connectionist network models of the brain and semantic network models of mind is that: a) both types of models would agree that excitatory connections underlie knowledge representation. b) both types of models would agree that related concepts are spatially close to one another. c) both types of models would agree that a given concept is represented by a single “node”, or representation. d) both types of models would agree that connections between concepts are never inhibitory. Answer: a Page Ref: 199
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34) The fact that the concept of “reality show” didn't exist 20 years ago, but now is well-established, makes which function of concepts evident? a) understanding b) predicting c) communicating d) learning Answer: d Page Ref: 201 35) The functions of concepts in our everyday thinking include all of the following EXCEPT: a) slower and more careful thinking. b) making predictions. c) communicating with others. d) supporting new learning. Answer: a Page Ref: 201 36) Categories that are formed “on the fly” in the service of some goal are termed: a) natural categories. b) artifact categories. c) ad hoc categories. d) metaphorical concept categories. Answer: c Page Ref: 202 37) “Vegetables” is a(n): a) ad hoc category. b) natural category. c) artifact category. d) metaphorical concept category. Answer: b Diff: 2 Page Ref: 202 38) “Sport” is a(n): a) ad hoc category. b) artifact category. c) natural category. d) metaphorical concept. Answer: b Page Ref: 202 39) One of the major criticisms of the classical view of concepts is that: a) it has a graded structure. b) members in certain categories have too much family resemblance. c) it is not based on similarity. d) it is difficult to determine what are necessary and sufficient features for many categories. Answer: d Page Ref: 203 40) The graded structure of categories is best illustrated by which of the following statements? a) “Tool” is the superordinate level category for the basic level category “hammer”. b) The boundary between sport and game is not very distinct. c) Members of a given category have features that are more or less defining to the category. d) “Apple” is more representative of the category “fruit” than “kiwi” is. Answer: d Page Ref: 203
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41) The fuzzy boundaries in categories is best illustrated by which of the following statements? a) Bowling is “sort of” like a sport, but also “sort of” like a game. b) An orange is more representative of the category “fruit” than a kiwi is. c) “Furniture” is the superordinate level category for the basic level category of “couch”. d) Only natural categories have fuzzy boundaries. Answer: a Page Ref: 203 42) In terms of categorization, family resemblance means: a) separation between categories is indistinct. b) how many features are shared with other category members. c) category members all share the same features. d) there is a hierarchical structure to categories. Answer: b Page Ref: 204 43) Which of these views of categorization CANNOT explain why the majority of individuals gives “carrot” as one of their first examples of a vegetable? a) the exemplar view b) the classical view c) the prototype view d) the essentialist view Answer: b Page Ref: 202-204 44) All of the following statements are true of the classical view of concepts except: a) It is an essentialist approach to categorization. b) It assumes that membership in a category is clear-cut. c) It proposes that concepts are mentally represented by list of features. d) “Necessary” and “sufficient” features play an important role in the theory. Answer: a Page Ref: 202-204 45) In a study by Posner, Welton, & Goldsmith (1967), participants saw a bunch of dot patterns, and then later had to classify them as previously seen or unseen. When participants saw a dot pattern that resembled all of the other ones, but that wasn't presented, they still tended to classify it as previously seen. This finding supports: a) exemplar approach. b) the essentialist view. c) prototype approach. d) the classical view. Answer: c Page Ref: 205 46) In a study by Posner, Welton, and Goldsmith (1967), subjects saw a bunch of dot patterns, and then later had to classify them as previously seen or unseen. The results were that: a) subjects were unable to distinguish new dot patterns from old dot patterns. b) subjects confident reported that they had seen only the old dot patterns, but not the new ones. c) subjects confidently reported they had seen the prototype, although they never had. d) subjects recognized the prototype, but not as well as the other dots that had been seen before. Answer: c Page Ref:205 47) Prototype is to exemplar as ________ is to ________. a) general; specific b) concrete; abstract c) instance; average d) example; idea
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Answer: a Page Ref: 205-206 46) Suppose that your knowledge about the category “teacher” is represented in your memory in terms of all of the specific teachers you've known in the past. This representation is most consistent with the ________ approach to categorization. a) prototype b) exemplar c) classical view d) essentialist Answer: b Page Ref: 206 47) A problem with the prototype approach that can be explained by the exemplar approach is a) sensitivity to context. b) similarity to the standard example. c) typical examples are generated first when people are asking to name a category member. d) that the exemplar approach is more economical. Answer: a Page Ref: 206 48) Similarity-based approaches to categorization are to essentialist approaches to categorization as: a) parallel processing is to serial processing. b) the prototype approach is to the classical approach. c) the exemplar approach is to the prototype approach. d) bottom-up processing is to top-down processing. Answer: d Page Ref: 207 .49) A problem with an extreme version of the exemplar approach is that: a) people are not sensitive to the biasing effects of context. b) it is not based on the idea of similarity to an example. c) it uses only the average examples, not all of the examples in memory. d) it is not economical to store every single example in memory. Answer: d Page Ref: 207 50) A study by Rips (1989) on sorps and doons found that a) in the accident condition, similarity ratings were lowered more than categorization ratings. b) in the accident condition, categorization ratings were lowered more than similarity ratings. c) in the accident condition, similarity and categorization ratings were the same. d) in the essence condition, similarity ratings were lowered more than categorization ratings. Answer: a Page Ref: 208-209 51) The implication of the study by Rips (1989) where sorps and doons underwent either an accident or a change in essence is that: a) there is consistency between similarity and categorization ratings. b) there is a dissociation between similarity and categorization ratings. c) category coherence cannot be explained by the essentialist approach. d) similarity is the basis of the essentialist approach. Answer: b Page Ref: 208-209
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51) Roy meets Dewayne for the first time, and gets to know him a bit. Which of these is unlikely to appear to Roy as essential to who Dewayne is? a) Where he's from b) His religion c) His ethnicity d) His age Answer: a Page Ref: 208-209
ESSAY 1) What are the three levels of categorization, as described by Rosch? Name and describe each level, and give an example for each. Page Ref: 172 2) What does the evidence indicate about whether orientation and perspective influences how we recognize objects? How does context influence recognition? Page Ref: 174-177 3) Two basic approaches to object recognition are the parts-based approach and the image-based approach. Describe each of these two approaches and how they explain object recognition. Page Ref: 177-181 3) What is the recognition-by-components theory? How does it explain object recognition? Page Ref: 178-180 4) What is the template-matching theory? How does it explain object recognition? What are some problems with this theory? Page Ref: 180-181 5) How do we gain tactile information from our environment? What are the six EPs described by Klatzky and her colleagues? Page Ref: 183-184 6) What are some of the characteristics of odor recognition? What is the tip-of-the-tongue state, and how does it relate to feelings-of-knowing and metacognition? Page Ref 184-185 7) What is the face inversion effect? What does this phenomenon indicate about face recognition? What are the two major views of face recognition? Page Ref: 187-189 8) Describe some of the individual differences that are evident in face recognition. Page Ref: 190-192 9) Describe basic procedure of the Keenan et al. study that featured a “face morphing” sequence, and a selfrecognition decision. How did this procedure reveal the right hemisphere as critical to self-face recognition? Page Ref: 193-194 10) What is the sequence of recall for information about a face, and what information seems particularly easy and particularly difficult to recall? Briefly describe (a) serial accounts and (b) parallel accounts of face recognition. Page Ref: 194-196
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11) What is a semantic network? Draw a simple example, and discuss how spreading activation works? What happens in this network during a category verification task and a feature verification task ? Page Ref: 198-199 12) Describe three functions of concepts, and define/give an example of three different types of concepts. Page Ref: 201-202 13) Describe the classical view of categorization, and why it's inadequate. Page Ref: 202-203 9) What is the prototype approach to concept representation? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this approach as compared to the classical view of concept representation? Page Ref: 204-205 9) What is the exemplar approach to concept representation? What are advantages and disadvantages of this approach as compared to the prototype approach to concept representation? Page Ref: 206-207 10) What is the essentialist approach to concept representation? What are the differences between this approach and similarity based approaches? What is biological essentialism? Page Ref: 207-211
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CHAPTER 6: BASIC PROCESSES IN LONG-TERM MEMORY: ENCODING AND RETRIEVING INFORMATION CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
Fundamental Issues and Distinctions A. Types of Long-Term Memory B. A Descriptive Framework: Encoding, Storage, and Retrieval C. LTM: Modes of Access and Use 1. Implicit vs. Explicit Memory Tests 2. Prospective and Retrospective Tests of Memory II. Encoding Processes in Explicit Long-Term Remembering A. Attention and Repetition 1. The Spacing Effect B. Rehearsal 1. Maintenance and Elaborative R C. Levels of Processing D. Self-Reference E. Fitness-Relevant Processing F. Organization and Distinctiveness G. Remembering Action 1. Enactment Effect a. Actors' Memories H. Transfer-Appropriate Processing 1. The Testing Effect I. Stop and Review III. Retrieval Processes in Long-Term Memory A. Availability and Accessibility B. Encoding Specificity 1. Extensions of Encoding Specificity: Context Dependency Effects 2. Effects of Test Type a. Practical Implications 3. A Critique of the Encoding Specificity Principle C. Aging and Retrieval IV. Memory and Consciousness A. Remembering and Knowing 1. Emotion and Memory B. Implicit Memory 1. Dissociations in Implicit and Explicit Tests of Memory a. Accounts of Explicit-Implicit Dissociations 2. Stop and Review
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STOP AND THINK ELABORATIONS Maintaining and Elaborating or Top Downing and Bottom Uping? (p. 229). The distinction between bottom-up and top-down processes is omnipresent, and serves as a unifying theme across many cognitive topics, including memory. Discuss how rote, maintenance rehearsal is basically sticking to the "data" being encoded, while elaborative rehearsal involves previous knowledge, hence involves a good deal of topdown processing. Distinguishing Episodic and Semantic Memories (p. 208) The differences between episodic and semantic memories are quite salient, and students resonate with the distinction. Their examples should fit the characteristic differences well. But, dichotomies are often overdrawn and portrayed as more cut-and-dried than they really are, and the semantic/episodic distinction is no exception. Students should be able to come up with situations and examples that violate the distinction (e.g., often, semantic memories take longer to retrieve than do salient episodic memories). Enacting Enactment (p, 236) This demonstration (in the spirit of the enactment effect) help students understand the enactment effect. You might have them think of other “independent variables” to manipulate, or other conditions to run. For example, one group could imagine that they’re carrying out the activities, or you might have a condition in which people think they’re going to have to carry out the activities. Ugh! I Hate Cumulative Tests (p. 241) The fact that testing and re-testing leads to such robust memory advantages might serve as a balm for students who can't stand the notion of a cumulative test. See if they have any different impressions about classes that have and have not featured cumulative testing, in terms of the difficulty and/or effectiveness of the class. Study Skills Counseling (p. 249) This exercise will get students to consider how the encoding and retrieval factors apply to the memory trials and tribulations of the average student. You might extend the exercise by having them rank each factor in terms of likely value, or by having them consider whether the value of the factors might depend on what is being studied.
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DISCUSSION STARTERS Memory Failures and Stages of Memory: Have students reflect on the different stages of memory (encoding, storage, and retrieval) and which of these tends to be the culprit in their own successes/failures as a student. Memory Complaints: You could begin coverage of Chapter 6 by asking students to report their top memory complaints; there is a considerable literature that suggests that these complaints are largely ones of prospective memory failure. Ask students for specific examples, and how they attempt to cope with the problem. Effective Studying: Begin discussion of encoding in LTM by having students talk about the ways in which they study. Use their responses as examples of the mnemonic benefits of the various encoding/retrieval techniques. You might also use their responses to highlight some of the things they aren't doing that might prove to be effective. Encoding Specificity in Class: Students are often concerned about the implications of the encoding specificity principle for their studies. You might ask them how they (implicitly) take the principle into consideration while studying. Also, you could point out (as we do in the text) that in the classroom setting, the effects of encoding specificity are mitigated by a number of factors, including multiple encodings in different settings and overlearning.
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INTERNET RESOURCES Researchers, Organizations, and Institutes Mark McDaniel http://www.psych.wustl.edu/learning/McDaniel_Lab/Home.html Jim Nairne (Adaptive Memory Lab) http://evo.psych.purdue.edu/ Harold Pashler http://laplab.ucsd.edu/people Purdue University Memory and Cognition Lab http://memory.psych.purdue.edu/ Rotman Research Institute http://www.rotman-baycrest.on.ca/ Suparna Rajaram http://www.psychology.sunysb.edu/srajaram-/ Henry Roediger http://www.psych.wustl.edu/memory/ Larry Squire http://whoville.ucsd.edu/ Endel Tulving http://www.rotman-baycrest.on.ca/index.php?section=219 Memory and Aging Research Center http://www.semel.ucla.edu/memory
Miscellaneous Informational Sites Memory Exhibition at the Exploratorium http://www.exploratorium.edu/memory/index.html Human Ecology of Memory http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~kihlstrm/mnemosyne.htm Mindhacks Blog - Remembering Pages http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/remembering/index.htm The Man Who Couldn't Remember (HM and Amnesia) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/corkin-hm-memory.html CogBlogs Preplay: How Past Experiences Subconsciously Influence Behavior http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101222131123.htm Stress Can Enhance Ordinary, Unrelated Memories http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101221172246.htm
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Sleep Makes Your Memories Stronger, and Helps With Creativity http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101113165441.htm How Taking an Active Role in Learning Enhances Memory http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101206111508.htm Novel Memory-Enhancing Mechanism in Brain http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101214122852.htm Jet-Lagged and Forgetful? It's No Coincidence: Memory, Learning Problems Persist Long After Periods of Jet Lag http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101124171538.htm Motion Determines How an Experience Is Stored in Memory, Optogenetics Study Suggests http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101115155756.htm Frontal Lobe of the Brain Is Key to Automatic Responses to Various Stimuli, Say Scientists http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101020131714.htm Picture Worth a Thousand Words: New Research Links Visual Cues to Male Sexual Memory http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101011125959.htm How Practice Tests Improve Memory http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101014144235.htm Daytime Napping Improves Memory http://brainblogger.com/2010/11/06/daytime-napping-improves-memory/ Study Better: The Benefits of Cumulative Exams http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/everybody-is-stupid-except-you/201012/study-better-the-benefitscumulative-exams Study Better: Space it Out and Mix it Up http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/everybody-is-stupid-except-you/201009/study-better-space-it-outand-mix-it Moving the eyes but not looking - why do we do it? http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2010/11/moving-eyes-but-not-looking-why-do-we.html An interview with Suzanne Corkin (about her extensive work with amnesic HM) http://scienceblogs.com/neurophilosophy/2010/12/an_interview_with_suzanne_corkin.php The woman whose new memories are erased each night http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2010/09/woman-whose-new-memories-are-erased.html Beer, Humor, and Memory: Failed TV Commercials http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mental-mishaps/201007/beer-humor-and-memory-failed-tv-commercials
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TEST ITEMS MULTIPLE CHOICE 1) Declarative is to procedural as _____ is to _____. a) short-term; long-term b) knowing that; knowing how c) semantic; episodic d) facts; personal history Answer: b Page Ref: 216-217 2) Semantic memories: a) are generally retrieved in the absence of a recollective experience. b) tend to be more vulnerable to forgetting than episodic memories. c) typically include an affective (i.e., emotional) component. d) aren't all that important in day-to-day living. Answer: a Page Ref: 217 5) Episodic memories: a) are typically very resistant to forgetting b) are generally associated with a recollective experience. c) typically include an affective (i.e., emotional) component. d) tend to be very accurate. Answer: c Page Ref: 217 6) _______ memory is memory for personally experienced events, while ______ memory refers to knowledge about the world. a) Semantic; Episodic b) Episodic; Semantic c) Implicit; Explicit d) Explicit; Implicit Answer: b Page Ref: 217 7) Memory for well-learned skills, like riding a bike, is termed a) procedural memory b) semantic memory c) episodic memory d) explicit memory Answer: a Page Ref: 218 8)
_______ refers to the processes involved in the acquisition of material. a) Explicit memory b) Retrieval c) Storage d) Encoding Answer: d Page Ref: 218
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9) Memory tests that assess how experiences and events have an influence on our behavior without consciously being recalled are termed a) recognition tests b) recall tests c) implicit memory tests d) explicit memory tests Answer: c Page Ref: 219 10) When you're attempting to remember what you did last night, this would be an ________ memory task that taps into ________. a) explicit; episodic b) explicit; semantic c) implicit; episodic d) implicit; semantic Answer: a Page Ref: 219-220 11) Implicit memory is tested by a) word-fragment completion b) recognition c) cued recall d) free recall Answer: a Page Ref: 220 12) A subject is given a word fragment completion test in which 15 are fragments of words seen previously and 15 were fragments of words not seen previously. Of the 15 previously seen words, the subject completes 9 successfully (60%). Of the 15 previously unseen words, the subject completes 6 successfully (40%). What is the priming in this experiment? a) 10% b ) 20% c) 30% d) 50% Answer: b Page Ref: 221 13) _______ memory is to the past as _______ memory is to the future. a) Explicit; implicit b) Implicit; explicit c) Prospective; retrospective d) Retrospective; prospective Answer: d Page Ref: 221-223 14) A critical difference in prospective and retrospective memory is that: a) retrospective memory is explicit and prospective memory is implicit. b) in retrospective memory, there is typically an explicit cue to remember; in prospective memory there isn't c) retrospective memory requires that a person "remember to remember"; prospective memory doesn't d) only retrospective memory plays a role in action slips; prospective memory isn't involved. Answer: b Page Ref: 222
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15) Distributed practice is to massed practice as ________ is to ________. a) encoding; retrieval b) effective; ineffective c) short term memory; long term memory d) semantic memory; episodic memory Answer: b Page Ref: 224 16) According to the deficient-processing hypothesis _______, and the locus of this effect is at _______. a) distributed repetition should be better than massed repetition; encoding, rather than retrieval b) distributed repetition should be better than massed repetition; retrieval, rather than encoding c) massed repetition should be better than distributed repetition; encoding, rather than retrieval d) massed repetition should be better than distributed repetition; retrieval, rather than encoding\ Answer: a Page Ref: 224 17) According to the encoding variability hypothesis ________, and the locus of this effect is at ________. a) distributed repetition should be better than massed repetition; encoding, rather than retrieval b) distributed repetition should be better than massed repetition; retrieval, rather than encoding c) massed repetition should be better than spaced repetition; encoding, rather than retrieval d) massed repetition should be better than spaced repetition; retrieval, rather than encoding Answer: b Page Ref: 224 18) _______ refers to how many times an item of information is experienced, while _______ refers to how that item is thought about internally. a) Rehearsal; repetition b) Repetition; rehearsal c) Massed practice; distributed practice d) Maintenance rehearsal; elaborative rehearsal Answer: b Page Ref: 224 19) Which of these served as the best predictor of long-term retention of mathematics knowledge, in Bahrick's studies on the long-term retention of knowledge? a) SAT scores b) grades c) the length of the initial learning period d) sex Answer: c Page Ref: 225 20) What do Conway, Cohen, & Stanhope's (1991) findings indicate about long-term retention of knowledge learned in a cognitive psychology class? a) Concepts were forgotten more rapidly than names. b) There was a strong relationship between student confidence and level of retention for course material knowledge. c) Recall performance was better than recognition performance. d) Knowledge of research methods material showed little decline over the retention interval. Answer: d Page Ref: 225
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21) Research on the long-term retention of knowledge learned through formal instruction leads to the conclusion that retention depends on the length of time over which initial learning takes place. According to your text, thi is another instance of the powerful mnemonic benefits of: a) distributed repetition b) a deep level of processing c) subjective organization d) visual imagery Answer: a Page Ref: 225 22) Cepeda, Vuhl, Rohrer, Wixted, & Pashler (2008) found that the conditions leading to optimal recall were when _____; this ____ standard educational practice. a) original learning sessions are followed by a lengthy spacing interval, and then a review; is not b) original learning sessions are followed by a lengthy spacing interval, and then a review; is c) compressed original coverage of a topic is followed by minimally spaced studying; is not d) compressed original coverage of a topic is followed by minimally spaced studying; is Answer: a Page Ref: 226-227 23) Maintenance rehearsal: a) helps performance on a recall memory test, but not on a recognition memory test b) helps performance on a recognition memory test, but not on a recall memory test c) helps performance on both recall and recognition memory tests d) helps perfomance on neither recall nor recognition memory tests Answer: b Page Ref: 227-228 24) Which of these combinations of repetition/rehearsal would lead to the best memory? a) massed/elaborative b) distributed/elaborative c) distributed/maintenance d) massed/maintenance Answer: b Page Ref: 227-228 25) Jan remembered her 6 digit PIN number for her ATM card by noting that the first two digits were the year she was born, the second two digits were the year her son was born, and the last two digits were the year she graduated from high school. This is an example of: a) the serial position effect b) prospective memory c) maintenance rehearsal d) elaborative rehearsal Answer: d Page Ref: 228 26) Under incidental learning conditions: a) no levels of processing effect is found b) there is no effect of encoding specificity c) people do not know their memory is going to be tested d) priming is used to measure memory performance Answer: a Page Ref: 229
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27) According to the levels of processing paradigm, how well you remember something depends on: a) the length of time that the information is processed b) the type of processing performed on the item c) the way that memory is tested d) whether the words to be remembered rhyme or not Answer: b Page Ref: 230 28) According to the levels of processing approach, which one of these ways would result in the deepest level of processing for the word “flower?” a) repeating the word “flower” over and over again to yourself b) producing as many rhyming words as you could for flower, such as power c) thinking about how you loved to pick flowers with your grandmother in her garden d) spending more time processing the word, regardless of how it is processed Answer: c Page Ref: 230 29) Which of the following types of processing would result in the best memory? a) thinking about how many syllables are in the word you are trying to remember b) thinking of a rhyming word c) evaluating whether the word fits into a sentence d) thinking about how the word relates to you Answer: d Page Ref: 231 30) In their studies of fitness-relevant processing, Nairne and his colleagues found the following: a) that processing words in any type of action scenario involving nature led to enhanced recall b) that processing words in terms of their survival value led to benefits similar to self-relevant processing c) benefit of encoding in terms of hunting only occurred when it was framed as a hunting contest d) benefit of encoding in terms of hunting only occurred when it was framed as hunting for survival Answer: d Page Ref: 232 31) What is organization's effect on memory? a) It has considerable memory benefits, but only if based on some objective scheme (e.g., semantic categories). b) It has considerable memory benefits, but only if its subjective (i.e., based on a person's own groupings). c) It has considerable memory benefits, whether it's objective or subjective. d) It has memory benefits, but only on tests of recognition memory. Answer: c Page Ref: 233-234 32) If people are given unorganized information to process, they will attempt to a) use distinctiveness processing to aid memory b) impose their own structure and use subjective, idiosyncratic categories c) use material-appropriate processing to aid memory d) remember it using maintenance rehearsal Answer: b Page Ref: 234 33) The von Restorff phenomenon is one example of the beneficial impact of ________ on memory. a) organization b) repetition c) visualization d) distinctiveness Answer: d Page Ref: 234
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34) The main idea of material-appropriate processing is that a) the type of processing should complement the material; for example, relational processing for material that is not well organized b) the type of processing should match the material; for example, organized processing for organized material c) the type of processing should complement the material; for example, distinctive processing for information that has little structure d) the type of processing should match the material; for example, relational processing for organized material Answer: a Page Ref: 235 35) If I show one group of subjects a list of phrases, such as “break the toothpick,” and then had a second group of subjects actually perform the actions, which group would be more likely to remember the action phrases? a) the group that studied the verbal phrases b) the group that performed the actions c) they would remember the phrases about the same d) the verbal group on a recall test; the action group on a recognition test Answer: b Page Ref: 236 36) Noice and Noice (2006) collected protocols from actors regarding how they learn their lines. The analyses of the protocols revealed _____ major phase(s) in their line/part learning. The phase(s) is loosely correspond to: a) 1; the enactment effect b) 2; maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal c) 2; elaborative rehearsal and embodiment d) 3; embodiment and material appropriate processing Answer: c Page Ref: 237 37) In an experiment testing the idea of transfer-appropriate processing, Morris, Bransford, and Franks (1977) had subjects encode words either semantically or phonologically. The results of their experiment were that a) semantically encoded words were remembered best in the free recall test b) semantically encoded words were remembered best in both types of recognition tests c) phonologically encoded words were remembered better than semantically encoded words in the standard recognition test d) phonologically encoded words were remembered better than semantically encoded words in the rhyme recognition test Answer: d Page Ref: 237-238 38) The transfer-appropriate processing approach proposed by Morris, Bransford, and Franks (1977) added an important qualification to the levels of processing notion. What was this qualification? a) that the levels of processing effect depends on whether incidental or intentional learning is used b) that the levels of processing effect occurs only for single words, not for any other type of stimulu) c) that the levels of processing effect depends on exactly how memory is tested d) that the levels of processing effect depends on the time spent processing, in addition to the nature of processing Answer: c Page Ref: 238-239
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42) A study by Roediger and Karpicke (2006) had subjects either study a prose passage four separate times (the SSSS group), or study the prose passage one time, then take three tests on the material (the STTT group). The results of this study were that a) there was no difference between the groups at the immediate memory test, but at the delayed memory test, the SSSS group had better memory b ) the STTT group had better memory on the immediate memory test, but at the delayed memory test, there was no difference between the groups c) when memory was tested almost immediately, the SSSS group had better memory d) when memory was tested almost immediately, the STTT group had better memory Answer: c Page Ref: 240 43) The testing effect most likely is most clearly related to this general memory framework: a) material-appropriate processing b) transfer-appropriate processing c) levels-of-processing d) the distinction between episodic and semantic memory Answer: b Page Ref: 240 44) This finding suggests that when instructors make up tests, they should think seriously about including material from previous units or courses – that is, they should consider cumulative exams: a) the testing effect b) levels of processing c) the enactment effect d) materials-appropriate processing Answer: a Page Ref: 240 45) If someone has answer stuck "on the tip of their tongue," this means that the information they want is: a) available and accessible b) accessible, but not available c) available, but not accessible d) neither accessible nor available Answer: c Page Ref: 242 46) Tulving and Pearlstone (1966) compared free recall and category-cued recall (e.g., “type of spice”), and found that ________ was superior because ________. a) cued recall; category cues made information more available b) cued recall; category cues made information more accessible c) free recall; category cues made information more available d) free recall; category cues made information more accessible Answer: b Page Ref: 243 47) In a classic study by Thomson and Tulving (1970), participants encoded a series of weakly related word pairs (e.g., glue-chair). Later, they were tested via cued recall; they were to recall the right-hand member of each pair (chair, in the present example), given either the weakly related word, or a very strong associate (e.g., table). What happened in this study? a) Strong associates were better cues than the originally encoded weak associates. b) Originally encoded weak associates were better cues than the strong associates. c) The originally encoded weak associates and the strong associates were equally effective. d) Having no cue at all led to the highest levels of recall. Answer: b Page Ref: 243-244
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48) Habib & Nyberg attempted to isolate the neural correlates of availability and accessibility using fMRI. They found that activity in ______ distinguished memories that were inaccessible (but that were available) from memories that were both inaccessible and unavailable. a) medial-temporal lobe (MTL) b) left inferior frontal cortex (LIFC) c) both the MTL and the LIFC d) neither the MTL nor the LIFC Answer: b Page Ref: 244 49) The general format of a context-dependency study involves two encoding conditions, A and B, and two retrieval conditions, A and B. Which of the following comparison among conditions would be a test of the encoding specificity principle? a) comparing the AA group to the BA group b) comparing the BB group to the AB group c) comparing the AA group to the AB group d) comparing the AB group to the BA group Answer: c Page Ref: 245 50) Godden and Baddeley (1975) tested divers’ memory for words by having them encode on the beach or under water. The results indicated a) support for the encoding specificity principle because words encoded on the beach were remembered better on the beach than under water b) support for the encoding specificity principle because subjects who encoded and retrieved the words on the beach did better than subjects who encoded underwater and then retrieved on the beach c) support for transfer-appropriate processing because words encoded on the beach were remembered better on the beach than under water d) support for context-dependency effects because words encoded and retrieved under water were remembered better than words encoded and retrieved on the beach Answer: b Page Ref: 245 51) Context-dependency effects are most likely to be observed: a) on a recognition test b) on a free recall test c) on a cued recall test d) only when all other cues outshine the context cues Answer: b Page Ref: 246 52) Which of the following is a true statement, regarding whether students should worry about the implications of encoding specificity for their own test performance? a) Encoding specificity is especially important in classroom settings, because many tests are multiple choice format. b) The more you study, the more important context becomes as a cue. c) Because tests are taken in quiet and calm settings, it's probably better to study in a quiet and calm setting. d) You should always try to study in the same setting where you're going to be tested. Answer: c Page Ref: 246-247
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53) Which one of the following memory tasks is going to be harder for your elderly grandfather? a) Remembering to put the trash out on Tuesday mornings before 7am. b) Remembering to mow the lawn. c) Remembering the vacation he took ten years ago to the Grand Canyon. d) Remembering how to ride a bicycle. Answer: a Page Ref: 249 54) Age deficits in prospective memory: a) are generally not observed, unlike the deficits that are common in retrospective memory. b) are observed, but only in situations that that do not require self-initiated retrieval c) are observed, but only in event-based prospective memory d) are observed, but usually when the prospective memory cue is non-focal. Answer: d Page Ref: 249-250 55) In her study of remember and know judgments Rajaram (1993) found all of these EXCEPT: a) deep processing led to higher levels of recognition than did shallow processing b) the typical levels of processing effect was limited to “know” judgments c) deeply processed items were more likely to be associated with “remember” judgments than with “know” judgments d) participants were more likely to "relive" presented items at retrieval than simply "sensing" them as familiar Answer: b Page Ref: 251-252 56) A number of studies have revealed that negative stimuli: a) are more likely to be associated with "remember" judgments than with "know" judgments b) are more likely to be associated with "know" judgments than with "remember" judgments c) decrease activity in the hippocampus d) decrease activity in the amygdale Answer: a Page Ref: 252-253 57) Explicit is to implicit as: a) amnesics are to controls b) semantic is to episodic c) priming is to recognition d) conscious is to unconscious Answer: d Page Ref: 253 58) Beatle George Harrison's alleged plagiarism of the song "My Sweet Lord" is quite possibly an example of this memory phenomenon: a) the levels of processing effect b) prospective memory failure c) implicit memory d) encoding specificity Answer: c Page Ref: 254
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59) Déjà vu, the impression or feeling that we’ve been some place before, when in fact we have not, can be explained by a) unconscious plagiarism b) the levels of processing effect c) explicit memory d) implicit memory Answer: d Page Ref: 254 60) Which of the following is an example of a memory dissociation? a) High frequency words are recalled better than low frequency words while low frequency words are better recognized than high frequency words. b) Distracting stimulation in the environment hurts performance on both recall and recognition tests. c) Amnesics perform poorly on explicit tests of memory. d) Generating information produces better performance than reading the same information, on both recall and recognition tests. Answer: a Page Ref: 254-255 61) Warrington and Weiskrantz (1970) found a dissociation on memory performance for amnesics and nonamnesics. This means that they found a) amnesics had better recognition of words than nonamnesics, but worse performance on word fragment completion b) amnesics had worse recognition of words than nonamnesics, but they performed the same on word fragment completion c) amnesics had better performance on explicit memory tests, but worse performance on implicit memory tests d ) amnesics had better performance on implicit memory tests, but the same performance as nonamnesics on explicit memory tests Answer: b Page Ref: 255 62) According to the memory systems account of implicit/explicit dissociations, a) explicit memory performance is based on procedural memory, while implicit performance is based on declarative memory b) explicit memory performance is based on declarative memory, while implicit performance is based on procedural memory c) both explicit and implicit memory performance are based on semantic memory d) both explicit and implicit memory performance are based on procedural memory Answer: b Page Ref: 256-257
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53) According to the transfer-appropriate processing account of implicit/explicit dissociations, a) explicit memory tests are typically conceptually-driven, while implicit tests are typically data-driven b) explicit memory tests are typically data-driven, so are aided most by conceptually-driven tasks c) explicit memory taps declarative memory, while implicit memory taps procedural memory d) explicit memory taps procedural memory, while implicit memory taps declarative memory Answer: a Diff: 2 Page Ref: 242 54) The brain structure that seems to be most important in helping to form declarative memories is the a) neocortex b) amygdala c) striatum d) hippocampus Answer: d Diff: 2 Page Ref: 243 55) The dissociation between explicit and implicit memory in amnesics suggests that a) only semantic memory is affected by the brain damage they incurred b) only procedural memory is affected by the brain damage they incurred c) declarative memory is affected, but procedural memory is spared d) both declarative and procedural memory are affected Answer: a Diff: 3 Page Ref: 242-244
11) If someone has an answer stuck "on the tip of their tongue," this is most likely a(n) ________ failure. a) encoding b) retrieval c) storage d) attentional Answer: b Diff: 2 Page Ref: 209
12) Which of the following is FALSE about the memory systems view? a) The serial position effect has been used to support it. b) One underlying mechanism is responsible for processing in in both STM and LTM. c) STM and LTM are characterized as distinct memory systems. d) The finding of a long-term recency effect has been used as evidence against it. Answer: b Diff: 2 Page Ref: 210
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ESSAY QUESTIONS 1.
Compare and contrast episodic and semantic memory, and give three specific differences between them. Page Ref: 207-209
2.
What is the difference between repetition and rehearsal? Additionally, distinguish the two types of repetition and the two types of rehearsal. Page Ref: 211-214
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Define the levels of processing theory. What are some of the problems encountered by this theory? Page Ref: 216-217
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Organization and distinctiveness are two explanations that have been offered as to why some material is remembered better than other material. How does the material-appropriate processing approach explain these two seemingly opposite explanations? Page Ref: 216-220
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What is the method of loci? How does it help us remember information better? Page Ref: 220-221
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What are two different ways in which researchers have investigated memory for actions? Page Ref: 221-224
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Describe the encoding specificity principle and transfer-appropriate processing. What are the similarities and differences between these two approaches? Page Ref: 217-218, 220-221
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What is encoding specificity? Describe an experiment from your textbook that supports it. Be sure to include what was done, what was found, and explain specifically how it supports the principle of encoding specificity. Page Ref: 226-230
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What is the difference between a “remember” and a “know” experience, and how do they relate to recognition? Describe the dissociation found between remember and know judgments found by Rajaram (1993). Page Ref: 235-236
10. What is implicit memory? Describe an experiment from your textbook that supports the distinction between implicit and explicit memory. Be sure to include what was done, what was found, and what it means. Page Ref: 236-240 11. How do the memory systems view and the processing view differ in their account of implicit-explicit memory dissociations? Page Ref: 242-244.
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CHAPTER 7: AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY: RECALLING IMPORTANT EVENTS FROM LIFE CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
Everyday Memory A. Neisser’s Challenge: Ecological Validity and Memory Research 1. Everyday Memory Research: Bankrupt? 2. Striking a Middle Ground B. Stop and Review II. Autobiographical Memory: Basic Issues and Methodology A. Memories vs. Facts 1. Targeted Event Recall 2. Diaries 3. Cue Words B. Stop and Review III. Recalling a Life: Developmental Aspects of Autobiographical Remembering A. Childhood Amnesia 1. The Emergence of Autobiographical Memory a. Brain and Development b. Development of a Cognitive Self c. Social-Cognitive Development B. The Reminiscence Bump C. Forgetting IV. Autobiographical Memory Retrieval A. Encoding Specificity in Autobiographical Memory B. Effective Cues for Autobiographical Memory 1. Odors as Cues C. Models of Autobiographical Memory Retrieval 1. The Self Memory System View 2. The Basic Systems View D. Involuntary Autobiographical Memories E. Stop and Review V. Emotion and Autobiographical Remembering A. Flashbulb Memories 1. Characteristics of Flashbulbs 2. What Produces a Flashbulb? 3. Memories of 9/11 B. Memory for Trauma 1. Traumatic Event Memories: Fundamentally Different? C. Mood and Autobiographical Remembering 1. Mood-Dependence a. Depression and Autobiographical Memory Recall D. Stop and Review VI. Conclusion: Functions of Autobiographical Memory A. Communicative Function B. Emotional Function C. Directive Function
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STOP AND THINK ELABORATIONS Personal Facts and Memories (p. 264) This is a good exercise to have students reflect on the various types of information that comprise their knowledge network about themselves, and also provides an interesting comparison to episodic and semantic memories. You might have them look back at the differences between episodic and semantic memories (discussed in Chapter 6) and compare that distinction to the autobiographical distinction. Childhood Amnesia (p. 270) Students find childhood amnesia interesting, and reflecting on some characteristics of these memories and trying to discern some type of pattern in these memories always turns out to be an interesting exercise. You might also ask students whether they put any stock in Freud's view of childhood amnesia. The Point of Autobiographical Memory (p. 286) This exercise asks students to replicate the Casasonto and Dijkstra (2010) study on how body motion can impact autobiographical remembering. The manipulation of pointing might be a bit transparent and/or strange, so another variation might be to do some other "up" and "down" movement like looking up and looking down, or standing up and sitting down. Reconstructing Autobiographical Memories (p. 290) This exercise will make the notion of reconstructive autobiographical memory quite palpable, as students work from the "superordinate" cues listed above to specific event memories. In having students reflect on these memories, you might also have them make the connection between levels of organization in AM and the levels of categorization discussed in Chapter 5. In that chapter, the basic level was noted as the most critical for thinking and language. Is this also true of autobiographical memories? Levels of Autobiographization (p. 290) This exercise is designed to get students to make connections between the different levels of categorization discussed in Chapter 5, and the levels of autobiographical memory proposed in Conway's model. It could be extended by having students think about when they talk to family or friends and reminisce, or update them on their lives, what level of description they are most likely to use. What Pops into Your Head? (p. 293) This one's a little involved - - your students will need to be pretty dedicated to keep the required diary. But it may lead to some valuable reflection on the types of memories that occur spontaneously, and when/where they occur. What seems to be the cues that trigger these memories? Life-Shapers and Life Changers (p.304) Given that most of your students are still in some pretty formative years, they might not have too many memories that qualify as life-shapers and changers, but nonetheless, they are likely to have experienced things that shifted their life course. Having them think about their lives this way will at the very least make them more reflective about their life episodes.
DISCUSSION STARTERS Basic vs. Applied Research: Neisser’s call to more ecologically valid memory research provides a nice opportunity to discuss the tension between basic and applied research, and their relative value and cost. This was also discussed in Chapter 1. Comparing Methods: To begin the material on autobiographical memory, you might consider having students recall using several of the methods discussed in the text. The cuing technique works well, as does targeted recall (have students recall memories from their first year of college). You might even have students record a few events a day, and then recall the events. Comparing methods will help students assess respective strengths and weaknesses.
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Sex Differences in Autobiographical Memory: Possible sex differences always make for interesting classroom discussion. Ask your students for some example autobiographical memories (or have them jot down 3 or so prominent recollections). Then, have the males and females "compare notes" on vividness, number of words used in the description, and other factors. Ask students why they think sex differences might exist. Mood and Memories Retrieved: Have students reflect on the relationship between their day-to-day mood and the types of memories that they think of. Are there discernible differences, and do these relate to the regulation of mood? Do negative memories seem to be overly general? Flashbulb Memories: Students always find flashbulb memories to be an interesting topic of discussion. One interesting extension of the exercise is to have students generate all of the flashbulbs (for public events) they can, and find out which events are most commonly associated with the flashbulb experience. Also, have students reflect on why they have the particular flashbulb memories that they do (and why they don't have them for the others).
INTERNET RESOURCES Researchers and Organizations Society for Applied Research on Memory and Cognition http://www.sarmac.org/ Patricia Bauer http://www.psychology.emory.edu/cognition/bauer/lab/ Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition (UC – San Diego) http://lchc.ucsd.edu/ Memory Lab (at the University of Auckland) http://www.memorylab.org/index.htm Miscellaneous Informational Links Narrative Psychology http://web.lemoyne.edu/~hevern/narpsych/narpsych.html The Gift of Endless Memory: 60 Minutes Video http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/12/16/60minutes/main7156877.shtml Foley Center for the Study of Lives http://www.sesp.northwestern.edu/foley/ Interdisciplinary Study of Memory: Links http://www.phil.mq.edu.au/staff/jsutton/Memory.html BBC - The Memory Experience - Autobiographical Memories http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/memory/share/index5.shtml Human Ecology of Memory (John Kihlstrom) http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~kihlstrm/mnemosyne.htm Magical Memory Tour (Beatles' Songs and Autobiographical Memories) http://www.magicalmemorytour.com/
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Cog Blogs Hormone Oxytocin Bolsters Childhood Memories of Mom's Affections http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101129152433.htm Re-Evaluating the Time of Your Life: Researcher Investigates the 'Subjective Time Trajectory' in Psychological Health http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101012114214.htm Talking About the Past http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-child-in-time/201012/talking-about-the-past
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TEST ITEMS MULTIPLE CHOICE 1) Research in everyday memory issues is usually higher in _______ and lower in _______ than typical laboratory memory research. a) ecological validity; internal validity b) internal validity; ecological validity c) internal validity; external validity d) ecological validity; external validity Answer: a Page Ref: 260-261 2) Neisser's challenge to cognitive psychologists included all of the following EXCEPT: a) cognitive psychology research on memory has tended to be boring and trivial b) cognitive psychologists have demonstrated little more than a child would be able to intuit c) cognitive psychologists do not study important or relevant aspects of memory d) cognitive psychologists have not made any firm conclusions regarding how memory works Answer: d Page Ref: 261 3) Banaji and Crowder attacked Neisser's critique of memory research, claiming that: a) Everyday memory problems are of little interest b) Laboratory research on memory does directly address most everyday questions of memory c) Important research questions shouldn't be defined solely what people think seems interesting d) Generalizability of research findings isn't as important as people make it out to be Answer: d Page Ref: 261 4) Which of these is an example of autobiographical memory? a) Dan remembers his first date. b) Susan plans for the two papers she has to write this week. c) Zoe recalls that her mom hates it when she bites her nails. d) Brant tells someone that he has season tickets to his college's games. Answer: a Page Ref: 263 5) Autobiographical memory is to autobiographical fact as ________ is to ________. a) retrieved; reconstructed b) episodic memory; semantic memory c) positive; negative d) know; remember Answer: b Page Ref: 263-264 6) Based on a self-study of her own memory, Linton (1975) proposed that: a) autobiographical memories eventually become autobiographical facts b) autobiographical facts eventually become autobiographical memories c) eventually, our autobiography becomes dominated by autobiographical facts rather than memories d) eventually, our autobiography becomes dominated by autobiographical memories rather than facts Answer: a Page Ref: 264-265
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6) Traditional memory research tends to be more focused on the _____ of memory, and less focused on ____, while the opposite is true of autobiographical memory research. a) completeness; accuracy b) accuracy; subjective experience b) phenomenological qualities; content c) subjective experience; completeness Answer: b Page Ref: 265 7) Lam and Buehler (2009) used targeted event recall to see how subjectively distant people feel from their memories. They had participants think back to a target event (acceptance to college) via either backward recall (recall events from now, back to the time of acceptance) or forward recall (recall the acceptance to college, and then subsequent events up to the present). They also asked people to rate their own judgment of how much they had changed since the target event. With forward recall, memories seemed ______ than with backward recall, and forward recall led participants to _____ judgments of self-change, relative to backward recall. a) more recent; lower b) more recent; higher c) more remote; lower d) more remote; higher Answer: d Page Ref: 267 7) Which of these autobiographical memory research techniques allows for firmer conclusions about memory accuracy? a) targeted event recall b) diary technique c) cue word technique d) public record assessment Answer: b Page Ref: 267 8) Which of these autobiographical memory research techniques allows a researcher to plot the autobiographica retention function? a) cue-word technique b) targeted event recall c) diary technique d) flashbulb memories Answer: a Page Ref: 268 9) Which of these autobiographical memory research techniques was introduced by the same individual who came up with the statistical technique of correlation? a) cue-word technique b) targeted event recall c) diary technique d) flashbulb memories Answer: a Page Ref: 268
10) You interview your 74 year old grandmother about the events in her life. Based on what you know about the
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autobiographical retention function, which of these would surprise you? a) She remembers very little from when she was a toddler. b) She remembers a great deal from the last few years. c) She doesn't remember much from her early adulthood. d) Her infant years are a complete blank. Answer: c Page Ref: 268-269 11) The term "childhood amnesia" refers to the finding that ________ before the age of about ________. a) children are unable to form memories; 2 or 3 b) children are unable to form memories; 6 or 7 c) adults are unable to retrieve memories for events that occurred; 2 or 3 d) adults are unable to retrieve memories for events that occurred; 6 or 7 Answer: c Page Ref: 269 12) One research strategy for investigating childhood memories (in order to check and verify the accuracy of remembered childhood events) is to: a) investigate participants' pasts to confirm the events they remember b) ask about salient events that can be easily corroborated by other parties c) stage events that can be asked about later on d) there is no way to corroborate any childhood memory. Answer: b Page Ref: 269 13) In their study of early childhood memories, Usher and Neisser (1993) found that a) memories for a car accident were some of the earliest recalled b) memories for the death of a family member were some of the earliest recalled c) memories for hospitalization were some of the earliest recalled d) memories for a family move were some of the earliest recalled Answer: c Page Ref:270 14) The best explanation for the finding by Usher and Neisser (1993) that birth of a sibling was one of the earliest memories recalled is that a) it is the first installment of a story that will be told many times b) it is distinctive, involving and frightening event c) there were many family stories and photographs about this event d) there is a recency effect with this type of event Answer: a Page Ref: 270 15) In their study of early childhood memories, Usher and Neisser (1993) found that a) family stories and photographs helped the memories of all children b) family stories and photographs hurt the memories of all children c) family stories and photographs hurt the memories of children four and older d) family stories and photographs hurt the memories of children three years and younger Answer: d Ref: 270
16) The neurological explanation of childhood amnesia
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a) explains why children have difficulty with semantic memory, but not episodic memory b) cannot completely explain the existence of childhood amnesia c) explains why young children have so much difficulty remembering what happened even several months ago d) suggests that the procedural memory system is late developing in children Answer: c Page Ref: 271 17) What are the two neurological structures that seem to be involved with childhood amnesia? a) the hippocampus and the amygdala b) the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala c) the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex d) the thalamus and the hypothalamus Answer: c Page Ref: 271 18) When conversing with their daughters, parents tend to use a(n) ________ narrative style, which leads to ________ autobiographical memories for emotional events. a) elaborative; more impoverished b) elaborative; more detailed c) pragmatic; more impoverished d) pragmatic; more detailed Answer: b Page Ref: 272 19) This has not been proposed as an explanation of childhood amnesia? a) development of language b) development of a cognitive self c) development of appropriate neurological structures d) lack of encoding and rehearsal by the child Answer: d Page Ref: 272-273 20) Wang (2006) compared the early recall of Taiwanese and U.S. adults in terms of the age of their early childhood recollections and the degree of autonomy reflected in the memories. She found that U.S. participants had ____ memories than Taiwanese participants, and that memories of U.S. participants were ____ likely to reflect autonomy. a) earlier; more b) earlier; less c) later; more d) later; less Answer: a Page Ref: 273-274 21) Jack, MacDonald, Reese, & Hayne (2009) investigated the relationship between interaction between mother and child during early childhood and memory for childhood events later in life. When mother's talk about eventswas _____, the child's earliest memory tended to be ______. a) repetitious rather than elaborative; from earlier in childhood b) elaborative rather than repetitious; from later in childhood c) about social relationships; about the child themselves d) about the child; about social relationships Answer: a Page Ref: 273-274
22) Nelson and Fivush’s (2004) social-cognitive account of the emergence of autobiographical memory in children includes all of the following factors except for:
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a) memory talk with adults b) identification of a specific point of offset of childhood amnesia c) the child’s understanding that they have a unique set of beliefs and desires d) the development of an understanding of what a narrative is Answer: b Page Ref: 275 23) Multhaup, Johnson, & Tetrick (2005) propose that the transition from _______ to _______ memories marks the end of childhood memories and the emergence of autobiographical memory; this transition occurs, on average, at around _____ yrs of age. a) "recollect" to "know"; 3.1 b) "recollect" to "know"; 4.7 c) "know" to "recollect"; 3.1 d) "know" to "recollect"; 4.7 24) The reminiscence bump refers to the finding that ________ and seems to apply ________. a) people show a standard forgetting curve for the last several years of their autobiography; only to episodic memory b) people show a standard forgetting curve for the last several years of their autobiography; to both episodic and semantic memory c) people tend to recall a disproportionate number of events from between ages 10 to 30; only to episodic memory d) people tend to recall a disproportionate number of events from between ages 10 to 30; to both episodic and semantic memory Answer: d Page Ref: 276-277 25) One possible explanation for the reminiscence bump — that events occurring during the formation of a personal identity during adolescence are especially well-remembered — provides an analog to one of the accounts for this other memory phenomenon: a) flashbulb memories b) the offset of childhood amnesia c) dissociations between implicit and explicit memory d) the distinction between autobiographical memories and facts Answer: b Page Ref: 278 26) Janssen and Murre (2008) conducted an internet study of lifespan recall, and found a reminiscence bump, as expected. The reminiscence-period memories described by participants tended to be _________, supporting the ______ of the reminiscence bump. a) salient and important; peak functioning account b) mundane and relatively unimportant; peak functioning account c) salient and important; distinctiveness account d) mundane and relatively unimportant; distinctiveness account Answer: c Page Ref: 278
27) The third component of the autobiographical memory retention function is the forgetting portion. All of the following are a possible explanation for this component of the function except:
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a) lack of rehearsal b) interference c) neurological aging processes d) transitioning from autobiographical memories to autobiographical facts Answer: c Page Ref: 279 28) Wang (2009) investigated the role of encoding and rehearsal in forgetting, comparing the shape of the forgetting curve for Asian-Americans and Euro-Americans. She found that ______ remembered more specific and unique autobiographical episodes, and that the advantage _____ as retention interval increased. a) Asian-Americans; increased b) Asian-Americans; stayed the same c) Euro-Americans; increased d) Euro-Americans; stayed the same Answer: d Page Ref: 281 29) Marian and Neisser (2000) conducted a study in which Russian immigrants to the United States were given Russian or English cue words for autobiographical memories. The results of this study provided a conceptual replication of this classic memory phenomenon in the context of autobiographical memory: a) a levels of processing effect b) the beneficial effect of organization on memory c) encoding specificity d) a dissociation between implicit and explicit memory Answer: c Page Ref: 283-284 30) Marian and Neisser (2000) conducted a study in which Russian immigrants to the United States were given autobiographical memory interviews. They found language-dependent recall; that is, when prompted in Russian, they recalled more Russian than English memories. When prompted in English, they recalled more U.S. memories. In a second study, the researchers looked for the source of this effect — they were interested in whether this language-dependent recall was more dependent on the language of the cue-word, or on the language of the interview itself. They found that: a) language of the cue words played a larger role in language-dependent recall than did interview language b) language of the interview played a larger role in language-dependent recall than did cue-word language c) cue-word language and interview language were equally important in language-dependent recall d) cue words were more important in producing early memories; interview language was more important in producing later memories Answer: b Page Ref: 284 31) Casasonto and Dijkstra had participants recall autobiographical memories while moving marbles in an upward or downward direction. They found that: a) when moving marbles upward, participants were more likely to recall relatively positive memories; when moving them downward, they were more likely to recall relatively negative memories. b) when moving marbles upward, participants were more likely to recall relatively negative memories; when moving them downward, they were more likely to recall relatively positive memories. c) when moving marbles upward, participants were more likely to recall relatively recent memories; when moving them downward, they were more likely to recall relatively remote memories. d) when moving marbles upward, participants were more likely to recall relatively remote memories; when moving them downward, they were more likely to recall relatively recent memories. Answer: b Page Ref: 285 32) You and your friend, Dani, go on some adventure vacation every summer. She is trying to get you to remember an episode when you went to Maine. What of the following will serve as the best cue for memory retrieval?
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a) Do you remember what happened on July 11, 2007? b) Do you remember what happened when we went rock climbing? c) Do you remember the vacation we took at Acadia National Park? d) Do you remember when we went on vacation together? Answer: b Page Ref: 286-287 33) If a friend of yours is trying to get you to remember some funny event that happened when you were out together, which of these questions will be most effective in helping you retrieve the memory? a) Do you remember August 7th? b) Do you remember that time we were with Emily? c) Do you remember that time at the coffee shop? d) Do you remember that time we went antiquing in Stillwater? Answer: d Page Ref: 286-287 34) The Proust phenomenon is a) the power of odors to elicit memories that are especially old and vivid b) the ability of odors to generate more detailed memories c) using olfactory odors to generate autobiographical facts d) the ability of odors to generate very early memories in life Answer: a Page Ref: 287 35) People often tout the power of smells as cues for autobiographical memories. How does empirical research stack up on this issue? a) Olfactory cues produce more detailed memories than do non-olfactory cues. b) Olfactory cues produce more recent memories than do non-olfactory cues. c) Olfactory cues produce more vivid memories than do non-olfactory cues. d) Olfactory cues tend to produce flashbulb memories. Answer: a Page Ref: 288 36) When recalling an autobiographical memory, Conway’s self-memory systems says that a) we access sensory-perceptual details at the level of lifetime periods b) we reconstruct the event starting from event-specific knowledge, then general events, and finally lifetime periods c) we reconstruct the event starting from lifetime periods, then general events, and finally accessing event specific knowledge d) retrieval of autobiographical memories is fast and accurate Answer: c Page Ref: 289 37) Which of these is NOT one of the levels of knowledge in the self-memory system model of autobiographical memory proposed by Conway? a) lifetime periods b) general events c) event-specific d) months of the year Answer: d Page Ref: 289
38) The "general events" level of representation in autobiographical memory bears a strong resemblance to a) the subordinate level of category representation
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b) the superordinate level of category representation c) the basic level of category representation d) the notion of an exemplar in category representation Answer: c Page Ref: 316 39) According to Rubin and his basic systems view of autobiographical memory, the episodic memories that are typically tested in laboratory studies ______ qualitatively different from autobiographical recollections; the theoretical accounts of these two types of memories needs to be ______. a) are; similar b) are; different c) are not; similar d) are not; different Answer: b Page Ref: 291 40) Involuntary memories tend to be _____ and _________. a) general; retrieved slowly b) general; retrieved quickly c) specific; retrieved slowly d) specific; retrieved quickly Answer: d Page Ref: 291-292 41) Schlageman and Kvavilashvili (2008) investigated retrieval speed for involuntary and voluntary memories. Based on their findings, they propose that _______ are sometimes retrieved after a process of spreading activation. a) both voluntary and involuntary memories; spreading activation b) voluntary, but not involuntary memories; spreading activation c) involuntary, but not voluntary; spreading activation d) neither involuntary nor voluntary. Answer: a Page Ref: 292-293 42) All of these are typically a component of a flashbulb memory except for a) what you were doing at the time b) what you were wearing that day c) what you did next d) how you felt when you heard Answer: b Page Ref: 295 43) All of these are characteristics of flashbulb memories except for: a) crystal-clear vividness b) crystal-clear accuracy c) a high level of confidence in recall d) emotion and/or surprise Answer: b Page Ref: 296-298
44) Neisser & Harsch (1992) introduced the notion of TV priority in their research on flashbulb memories. TV priority refers to ________ and may help explain ________.
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a) people's tendency to watch too much TV; the vividness of flashbulbs b) people's tendency to watch too much TV; the distortions that occur in flashbulbs c) people's schema for hearing disaster news; the vividness of flashbulbs d) people's schema for hearing disaster news; the distortions that occur in flashbulbs Answer: d Page Ref: 296-297 45) What conclusions can be drawn about the accuracy of flashbulb memories? a) flashbulb memories are significantly more accurate than normal memories b) subjects consistently misremember the source of the flashbulb memory, but not the emotion they were feeling c) the longer the retention interval, the more distortions there appear to be d) flashbulb memories show exactly the same kind of distortions that normal memories do Answer: c Page Ref: 296-298 46) Currently, flashbulb memories seem to be explained by a) encoding specificity b) special memory mechanisms due to the emotion involved c) the Now Print! Theory d) the intensification of basic memory mechanisms by emotion Answer: d Page Ref: 297 47) In a study investigation flashbulb memories for the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Hirst and his colleagues found that: a) almost nothing was forgotten in participants' reports of how they had heard about the event. b) most of the forgetting that occurred came between years 2 and 3 of the three-year period. c) confidence decreased over the three year interval as much as memory did. d) the factors influencing forgetting were different for event memories and flashbulb memories Answer: d Page Ref: 299 48) Which of these is TRUE about the relationship between mood and remembered life episodes? a) Depressed individuals show preferential recall of negative events. b) Depressed individuals tend to be overly specific in their recall of events. c) Mood state-dependency does not apply to autobiographical memory. d) People in general tend to recall more negative life events than positive life events. Answer: a Page Ref: 300-301 49) The relative inability of depressed individuals to be specific in remembering past events leads to other problems, such as a) an inability to have general autobiographical recall b) excessive rumination about current problems c) an inability to imagine future events d) suicide Answer: c Page Ref: 30
50) Autobiographical memory helps us to organize, reflect on, and think through important life events. This assertion relates to which function of autobiographical memory? a) informational
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b) communicative c) directive d) emotional Answer: d Page Ref: 302-303 51) Relating details of personally experienced events makes us seem more believable and truthful, and tends to make us more persuasive. This assertion relates to which function of autobiographical memory? a) emotional b) informational c) communicative d) directive Answer: c Page Ref: 303 52) Which of these is NOT one of the functions of autobiographical memory? a) directive b) communicative c) emotional d) informational Answer: d Page Ref: 304
ESSAY QUESTIONS 1 Name two of the points that Ulric Neisser made in his attack on the meaningfulness of memory research, and describe two of the counter-critiques made by Banaji and Crowder. Page Ref: 260-261 2. How do autobiographical memories and autobiographical facts differ from each other? Give an example of each Be sure to include at least five out of the six characteristics on which they differ. Page Ref: 263-264 3. There are three basic methods that have been developed to investigate autobiographical memory. What are these three methods? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each methodological approach? Page Ref: 265-266 4. What is childhood amnesia? What is the typical age of offset? What explanations have been offered for the offset of childhood amnesia? Page Ref: 269-273 5. Nelson and Fivush (2004) developed an explanation of childhood amnesia called the social-cognitive account. What are the important factors in this explanation? Page Ref: 275-276 6. What is the reminiscence bump? What types of memories are typically recalled from this period of life? What explanations are given for the reminiscence bump? Page Ref: 276-279 7. How does encoding specificity affect autobiographical memory? Describe the Marian and Neisser (2000) study where they examined Russian and English memories. Be sure to include what was done, what was found, and what it means. Page Ref: 283-284
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8.
Odors sometimes seem to serve as good retrieval cues for an autobiographical memory. What conclusions can be drawn about using odors as retrieval cues? Are these types of autobiographical memories retrieved in the same way as other autobiographical memories? Page Ref: 287-288
9.
Conway and his colleagues developed the theory of the self-memory system. Describe the three levels of this system, and give an example of how an autobiographical memory might be retrieved using this system. Page Page Ref: 288-289
10. What are some of the differences between involuntary and voluntary autobiographical memories? Page Ref: 291-293 11. What are flashbulb memories? What are the five characteristics of flashbulb memories? Page Ref: 294-295 12. What are phantom flashbulbs? What conclusions can be drawn about the accuracy of these types of memories? Page Ref: 296-297 13. What is mood-dependent memory? How does this phenomenon relate to people who have depression? What does it indicate about potential problems they might have in retrieving autobiographical memories? Page Ref: 300-301 14 Although our autobiographical memories are not always accurate, they do seem to serve important functions for us. What are the three functions of autobiographical memory? Name and describe each of them. Page Ref: 302-303
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The Sins of Memory A. Stop and Review II. Eyewitness Memory A. Encoding and Storage I: Event-Related Factors 1. Event-Related Factors a. Stress and Trauma b. Other-Race Effect B. Encoding and Storage II: Post-Event Factors 1. Misinformation 2. Unconscious Transference a. Photo Bias C. Retrieval Factors 1. Lineups a. Lineup Structure i. Sequential vs. Simultaneous Lineups b. Lineup Administration 2. Interview Techniques a. Hypnosis b. Cognitive Interview D. Stop and Review III. Illusory Memories A. Simple Events 1. The Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) Paradigm a. True or False: Neural Processing and False Memories B. Complex Events 1. Memory Implantation 2. Routes to False Memory a. Imagination b. Pictures and Stories c. Collaboration and False Remembering 3. A Practical (and Positive) Application C. False Remembering: Theoretical Frameworks 1. Fuzzy-Trace Theory 2. Constructive Memory Framework a. Source Confusion D. Stop and Review IV. The Recovered Memory Controversy A. Memory for Traumatic Events: Forgotten, Then Recalled? 1. Retrospective Reports 2. Corroborated Cases of Recovered Memories 3. Differences in Recovery Experiences B. Remembering and Forgetting Trauma: Ordinary Forgetting or Special Mechanisms? 1. Evidence from Clinical Populations C. False Memories for Traumatic Events? 1. Memory Work and Suggestive Influences in Therapy 2. Self-Help Books and Checklists 3. Converging Evidence of False Recovered Memories D. Answering the Questions 1. A New Solution to the Debate? 2. The APA’s Position
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STOP AND THINK ELABORATIONS Confessing Your Sins (p. 307) Part One will highlight the fact that most memory distortions are instances of sins of commission. Part Two will probably show (similar to the “Memory Complaints” discussion starter in the previous chapter) that memory failures tend to be prospective memory failures. Implant Some Misinformation (p. 314) This demonstration will highlight some of the factors that make someone more prone to misinformation. Memories are more “distortable” when they occurred long ago, they weren’t encoded very well at the time, and are confuseable with other (similar) events. The Memory Distortion Family (p. 323) This exercise attempts to get students to think back to the material in Chapter 5 on concept representation. Emphasize that our store of concepts serves as the database for memory reconstruction, so it’s no surprise that the memory errors and distortions that occur follow the principles of family resemblance and prototypes. Have them discuss false memory examples, and whether these examples seem “generic” in terms of their level of detail, with broad/expected themes or events. Illusory Memories (p. 325) This straightforward replication of the Roediger and McDermott study should lead to fairly high levels of false recall, and might be extended in a number of ways. Variables that students could manipulate include rate of presentation, the nature of encoding instruction given to participants, and delay between list presentation and recall.
DISCUSSION STARTERS In the Jury Box?: Ask your students if any of them have served as a member of a jury. If you’re lucky enough to have an ex-juror, ask them how memory factors may have played a role in their evaluation of testimony and eyewitness identification, and whether any of the factors discussed in Chapter 7 may have come into play. Social Memory Construction: Quite often, when hanging out with friends, people will stray from the facts and embellish upon stories, which could conceivably lead to memory distortion. Ask students if they or their friends (knowingly or unknowingly) engage in this sort of memory construction and distortion. Ethics in Reconstructive Memory Research: Some express ethical concerns with research on memory distortion, particularly studies that attempt to implant memory for some event. Is it ethical to make someone believe that they had been lost in a shopping mall when s/he was a child — a potentially negative memory? Discuss the ethical ramifications Unconsciously Plagiarizing: Students really tend to resonate with the concept of unconscious plagiarism, having been unwitting culprits or victims. Ask them to relate any examples they can think of, and discuss what the situational factors were in order to discern any pattern as to when such plagiarism is likely. Ecological Validity and the Recovered Memory Debate: As we note in the text, one of the major objections from the “clinical side” of the false memory debate is that laboratory studies of illusory memory (e.g., the Roediger and McDermott list study) don’t really bear on the question of whether memories for childhood trauma might be implantable. Ask students where they stand on the question. Does the fact that a person might remember the word “sleep” even though it wasn’t presented tell us anything about whether or not sexual abuse can be falsely remembered? A Nation of Victims?: The late 1980’s and early 1990’s saw an explosion in the number of repressed memory claims, and in legal action taken against parents for perpetrating abuse. What possible factors have led to that increase? Is abuse occurring more often? Is it being reported more often? Some social critics observe that we are becoming a “nation of victims”, seeking out evidence of abuse where there’s none to be found. Ask students to weigh in on the factors that might have produced a surge in recovered memory claims. 107
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INTERNET RESOURCES Researchers, Organizations, and Institutes Eyewitness Lab at UTEP http://eyewitness.utep.edu/ Investigative Interviewing Research Lab at UTEP http://iilab.utep.edu/eid.htm The P.I.T. Lab (Police Investigation Techniques) http://web.mac.com/jwturtle/Site/P.I.T..html Elizabeth Loftus http://socialecology.uci.edu/faculty/eloftus Roy Malpass http://eyewitness.utep.edu/Malpass.html Daniel Schacter http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~dsweb/Home.html Gary Wells http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/faculty/gwells/homepage.htm
Miscellaneous Informational Sites National Institute of Justice: Eyewitness ID guidelines http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/pubs-sum/178240.htm What Jennifer Saw (Frontline Special on Wrongful Conviction due to eyewitness ID) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/dna/ Memory and Reality (website of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation) http://www.fmsfonline.org/ Recovered Memory Project (clearinghouse of info and articles) http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Taubman_Center/Recovmem/Archive.html Cog Blogs Dementia May Result from Incomplete Memories http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101202141916.htm Tetris Effect: Classic Computer Game May Have Special Ability to Reduce Flashbacks After Viewing Traumatic Images http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101110171331.htm Firsts in Memory, Judgment, Wine, and Kisses: Happy New Year http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mental-mishaps/201012/firsts-in-memory-judgment-wine-and-kisses-happynew-year After Good or Bad Events, People Forget How They Thought They'd Feel http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101101171236.htm 108
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The Battleground of Remembering http://mindhacks.com/2010/12/24/the-battleground-of-remembering/ Rehearsal Aids Memory: But Maybe Not for Eyewitnesses http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mental-mishaps/201012/rehearsal-aids-memory-maybe-not-eyewitnesses
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TEST ITEMS MULTIPLE CHOICE 1) Sins of omission are to sins of commission as ________ is to ________. a) transience; misattribution b) absent-mindedness; blocking c) suggestibility; persistence d) bias; transience Answer: a Page Ref: 306 2) Which of these “sins of memory” is a sin of omission (as opposed to commission)? a) misattribution b) suggestibility c) bias d) absentmindedness Answer: d Page Ref: 306 3) Ella remembers that Eleanor told her that she was admitted to law school. She later finds out that it was Claire, not Eleanor, who told her that she was admitted to law school. This is an example of the memory sin of: a) persistence b) bias c) misattribution d) suggestibility Answer: c Page Ref: 306 4) Joe witnesses a hit-and-run accident. He tells the police that the hit-and-run driver was in a red car. It was later determined that the car was actually blue. Joe remembered it as being red because he thinks that people who drive red cars tend to be reckless. This is an example of the memory sin of: a) persistence b) bias c) misattribution d) suggestibility Answer: b Page Ref: 306 5) In a classic study by Carmichael, Hogan, & Walters (1932), participants were given ambiguous drawings with one of two different labels. Later, they were asked to draw the figures they had encoded. During this retrieval phase, they ________, demonstrating the memory sin of ________. a) were unable to draw much of anything; transience b) were unable to draw much of anything; bias c) mis-drew the items consistent with the label they had seen; transience d) mis-drew the items consistent with the label they had seen; bias Answer: d Page Ref: 307 6) According to the Innocence Project, eyewitness misidentification plays a key role in ___ of the cases of wrongful conviction in which DNA evidence later led to exoneration. a) about 25% b) about 50% c) about 75% d) all 110
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Answer: d Page Ref: 308 7) Megreya and Burton (2008) investigated people’s ability to distinguish and remember faces. They had participants watch as target individuals walked to the front of a room and stood there for 30 seconds. After each target was presented, a 10-photo array was presented, from which participants were asked to choose who they had just seen. Subjects’ performance in this task was: a) near perfect; over 95% accuracy b) excellent; between 80 and 90% recognition c) mediocre; participants were only right about 2/3 of the time d) abysmal; participants performed at chance levels Answer: d Page Ref: 309 8) If an eyewitness to a crime experiences a weapon focus, he or she will be a) more likely to remember information about the gun, but less likely to remember what the person is wearing b) more likely to remember what the person is wearing, but less likely to remember information about the gun c) more likely to remember peripheral details, but less likely to remember central details d) equally likely to remember peripheral and central details Answer: a Page Ref: 310 9) Morgan, Hazlett, Doran, Garrett, Hoyt, Thomas, Baranoski, and Southwick (2004) investigated the effects of traumatic stress on memory by ___________ and found that traumatic stress has __________. a) interviewing former prisoners of war; surprisingly little effect on memory b) interviewing former prisoners of war; surprisingly powerful effects on eyewitness ID a) testing soldiers who had gone through a simulated prison camp; surprisingly little effect on memory b) testing soldiers who had gone through a simulated prison camp; surprisingly powerful effects on eyewitness ID Answer: d Page Ref: 310-311 10) The findings from Morgan, Hazlett, Doran, Garrett, Hoyt, Thomas, Baranoski, and Southwick’s study of eyewitness identification indicated that participants were likely in _____ mode while experiencing the prison camp simulation. a) activation b) arousal c) tunnel vision d) weapon focus Answer: b Page Ref:311 11) The effect of stress and emotion on memory seems to depend on the attentional mode of control that is present when an emotional event, such as a crime, occurs. In the _______ mode, novel, surprising and interesting events will be remembered best. a) activation b) arousal c) encoding d) misinformation Answer: b Page Ref: 311-312
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12) The effect of stress and emotion on memory seems to depend on the attentional mode of control that is present when an emotional event, such as a crime, occurs. If, when witnessing the crime, the person is extremely worried and anxious and their heart rate and breathing are very high: a) they will be in arousal mode and remember only the peripheral details. b) they will be in arousal mode and remember only the central details. c) they will be in activation mode and not remember much at all. d) they will be in activation mode and remember both the central and peripheral details. Answer: c Page Ref: 311-312 13) Research on race and facial identification: a) reveals that people are better at distinguishing among faces of their own race than they are at distinguishing among faces of another race. b) reveals that people are better at distinguishing among faces of another race than they are at distinguishing among faces of their own race. c) reveals that certain races are better at facial identification than are others. d) race has little or no influence on the ability to recognize faces. Answer: a Page Ref: 312 14) In a classic study by Loftus, Miller and Burns (1978), subjects viewed slides depicting a car accident at a stop sign. Then half of the subjects were asked about a yield sign, and half were asked about a stop sign. The results indicated that: a) all of the subjects did poorly in recognizing the original slide of the accident. b) subjects who received consistent information (i.e., the stop sign question) did poorly in recognizing the original slide of the accident. c) subjects who were misled by the stop sign question did poorly in recognizing the original slide of the accident. d) subjects who were misled by the yield sign question did poorly recognizing the original slide of the accident. Answer: d Page Ref: 313 15) The fact that misleading information presented between the encoding of an event and its subsequent recall can influence the memory of an eyewitness is called: a) a misinformation effect. b) photo bias. c) unconscious transference. d) the activation mode. Answer: a Page Ref: 313 16) Anne and Sally go out to eat every Friday. One Friday, Sally refers to a server who spilled water on the table a few weeks ago. Anne has no memory of this happening, and quickly dismisses Sally’s claim. But later, when Anne asked about the restaurant, she says, “the food is good but some of the servers are kind of clumsy.” This is an example of: a) the misinformation effect. b) unconscious transference. c) a memory sin of omission. d) the effect of emotional stress on memory for an event. Answer: a Page Ref: 313
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17) All of the following statements about the misinformation effect are true except: a) It is an example of the memory sin of suggestibility. b) It is an example of the memory sin of misattribution. c) It is an example of retroactive interference. d) It is an example of the memory sin of bias. Answer: d Page Ref: 313 18) When Timothy McVeigh was arrested for the Oklahoma City bombing, his steps were traced to a Ryder Truck rental outlet. A worker at Ryder trucks also reported another man who had been with McVeigh. Police sought this man out as well, considering him a possible co-conspirator, and referring to him as “John Doe #2”. Later, it came out that “John Doe #2” was actually an innocent man who had come into the Ryder rental place an hour or so after McVeigh. The Ryder worker’s initial memory about John Doe#2 is an example of: a) a misinformation effect. b) unconscious transference. c) photo bias. d) the effects of emotional stress on eyewitness memory. Answer: b Page Ref: 314 19) When a witness fails to distinguish between a target person and another person encountered at a different time whose face is also familiar, this is called: a) a misinformation effect. b) unconscious transference. c) the sin of absentmindedness. d) the arousal mode of encoding. Answer: b Page Ref: 315 20) Davis, Loftus, Vanous, and Cucciare (2008) investigated whether illusions of continuity might underlie unconscious transference, and related unconscious transference to which perceptual phenomenon? a) subliminal perception b) face inversion c) change blindness d) synesthesia Answer: c Page Ref: 315 21) Marcia was a witness to a crime. At the police state, she looked through many books of mug shots, hoping to identify the criminal. Two weeks later, the police asked her to come in and look at a lineup of criminals. Although the actual criminal was not in the lineup, Marcia identified one of the people in the lineup as the guy she saw commit the crime. Marcia was probably influenced by: a) misleading information that was encoded between the event and when she viewed the lineup. b) the emotional stress she experienced at the time of witnessing the crime. c) the previous mug shots that she saw. d) the number of people that were actually in the lineup. Answer: c Page Ref: 316 22) The least desirable outcome from a lineup choice is: a) an incorrect identification. b) no choice. c) an identification failure. d) a correct rejection. Answer: a Page Ref: 317 113
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23) In constructing a lineup, if non-witnesses consistently identify one person as the criminal, even though they never witnessed the crime, there is a problem with: a) the use of a relative judgment strategy. b) the use of an absolute judgment strategy. c) the functional size of the lineup. d) identification failure. Answer: c Page Ref: 318 24) Sandra is a witness to a bank robbery. When asked to identify the culprit in a lineup she brings her friend Tom with her. After Sandra identified the culprit, her friend Tom says that the guy she identified really stood out; he looked meaner and tougher than the rest of the people in the lineup. It seems that perhaps the Sandra’s identification could have been tainted by: a) photo bias. b) by the misinformation effect. c) inadequate functional size of the lineup. d) the fact that a show-up procedure was used. Answer: c Page Ref: 318 25) A good deal of eyewitness identification research suggests that ________ lineups are preferable, because they encourage participants to engage in a ________ strategy when making their identification. a) sequential; absolute judgment strategy b) sequential; relative judgment strategy c) simultaneous; absolute judgment strategy d) simultaneous; relative judgment strategy Answer: a Page Ref: 319 26) One criticism of sequential lineups that has been raised is that they: a) reduce correct rejections. b) increase incorrect identifications. c) increase false identifications. d) reduce correct identifications. Answer: d Page Ref: 319 27) Philisha is very confident that the suspect committed the crime. She was able to observe the crime from a location in which the culprit was unable to see her, she observed the culprit for 5 minutes; the crime took place in a well-lit area; the police used the cognitive interview to question her about the crime; she identified the suspect in a sequential lineup. Given this information the jury: a) should not take her confidence into consideration because confidence is not a good indicator of memory accuracy. b) should take her confidence into consideration during their deliberation, based on the idea behind the optimality hypothesis. c) should take her confidence into consideration because confidence is generally a good indicator of memory accuracy. d) should not take her confidence into consideration during their deliberation, based on the idea behind the optimality hypothesis. Answer: b Page Ref: 320
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28) Jury members tend to believe confident eyewitnesses. However, they really should only believe a very confident eyewitness when: a) the eyewitness identified the criminal in about 10 seconds. b) the eyewitness has been hypnotized. c) the eyewitness took more than 30 seconds to identify the criminal in a lineup. d) they should never believe a confident eyewitness because confidence is a poor predictor of memory. Answer: a Page Ref: 320 29) All of these characterize the cognitive interview except for: a) hypnosis. b) open-ended questions. c) elaborate retrieval cues that invoke the encoding specificity principle. d) techniques designed to make a witness comfortable. Answer: a Page Ref: 321 30) Hypnosis has sometimes been used as a retrieval technique for an eyewitness memory. What conclusions can be drawn about using hypnosis in this way? a) Hypnosis can be used, but only in extreme cases. b) Hypnosis leads to an increase in report of fabricated details and so should be avoided. c) Hypnosis should be used because it leads to an increase in the amount of information reported. d) Hypnosis should be avoided because it doesn’t lead to any increase in the amount of information reported. Answer: b Page Ref: 321 31) The results of laboratory studies of illusory memory indicate that: a) participants often consciously recollect the theme words around which each list is constructed, even though these words were never presented. b) participants don’t generally recollect that the theme word had been presented; they just KNOW that it was presented. c) participants often recognized that the theme words as having been in the lists but rarely recalled those theme words. d) false memories can not be created in a list learning paradigm. Answer: a Page Ref: 323-324 32) Roediger and McDermott’s investigation of illusory memories: a) revealed high levels of false recogniton, but almost no false recall. b) revealed that false memories were more likely to be “known” than “remembered”. c) revealed that false memories were more likely to be “remembered” than “known”. d) revealed that participants rarely misremembered words not presented on lists. Answer: c Page Ref: 323 33) In the study phase of a laboratory study of false memory, participants were presented with themed lists to the left hemisphere. During the retrieval phase participants were presented with a series of words (words from the lists seen during the encoding phase, the theme words around which the previous list had been created, and new words that had not been presented in the study phase). They were to identify which of the words were on the lists presented in the study phase. ERP responses were recorded. What would you predict should happen? a) ERP responses should be greater in the left hemisphere than the right hemisphere if the word had been presented during the study phase. b) ERP responses should be greater in the right hemisphere than the left hemisphere if the word had been presented during the study phase. c) ERP responses to the theme words should be the same in both the left and right hemisphere. d) ERP responses to the words actually presented should be the same in both the left and right hemisphere. 115
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Answer: a Page Ref: 325 34) In cognitive neuroscience research on illusory memories: a) real memories show a greater response in one hemisphere of the brain. b) illusory memories show a greater response in one hemisphere of the brain. c) real memories show an equal pattern of ERP responses for each hemisphere of the brain. d) indicate that our brain cannot tell the difference between real and illusory memories. Answer: a Page Ref: 325 35) In their “lost in a shopping mall” study, Loftus and Pickrell (1995): a) found that 75% of participants falsely remembered being lost in a mall. b) found that when false memories were created, they were quite vague, and not very long lasting. c) found that participants were just as confident about their false memories as they were about real ones. d) enlisted family members of the participants as confederates. Answer: d Page Ref: 326-327 36) The phenomenon of imagination inflation: a) is an instance in which the less a memory is imagined, the more real it seems. b) is an instance in which the more a memory is imagined, the more real it seems c) is present only in young children. d) only works in a laboratory setting. Answer: b Page Ref: 328 37) Garry and Wade compared the effects of photos and narratives in producing false memories and found that: a) both were about equally likely to lead to false remembering. b) neither one led to much false remembering. c) narratives led to more false remembering than did photos. d) photos led to more false remembering than did narratives. Answer: b Page Ref: 331 38) Gloria went to a family reunion, and at this reunion, she listened to stories told by her relatives, and looked at the pictures on display. What influence will these stories and photos have on her potential to generate an illusory memory? a) The photos are more likely to generate an illusory memory than the stories. b) The stories are more likely to generate an illusory memory than the photos. c) The photos will have a larger effect at the beginning of the four-day reunion than at the end of the reunion. d) The photos and stories will have an equal effect on her. Answer: b Page Ref: 331 39) Nash, Wadem, and Brewer (2009) investigated what they termed the doctored evidence effect and propose all but one of these as a possible source of the effect. Which one did they not propose? a) imagination b) familiarity c) credibility d) elaboration Answer: d Page Ref: 332
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40) A study by Principe, Kanaya, Ceci and Singh (2006) examined the effect of rumors on false memories in preschoolers. After hearing a rumor about how a rabbit had escaped from a magician: a) only children who had actually seen the rabbit eating carrots had false memories. b) only children who overheard the rumor directly from adults had false memories. c) children who had a suggestive interview had very high rates of false memories. d) children who had a neutral interview had no false memories. Answer: c Page Ref: 333-334 41) Memory distortion research has been applied to achieve which positive end? a) quitting smoking b) healthier eating c) remembering to take medications d) improving relationships. Answer: b Page Ref: 334 42) According to fuzzy trace theory, remembering is based on a combination of ____ and _____ information. a) gist; verbatim b) remember; know c) imagined; real d) forgotten; remembered Answer: a Page Ref: 335 43) According to fuzzy trace theory, the DRM memory illusion occurs because presenting the related words: a) strengthens a verbatim trace. b) weakens a fuzzy trace. c) strengthens a gist trace. d) weakens a know trace. Answer: c Page Ref: 335 43) Which of the following is the correct order of steps in the constructive memory framework? a) feature binding, pattern separation, focusing, criterion setting, pattern completion b) pattern separation, focusing, feature binding, pattern completion, criterion setting c) feature binding, pattern separation, focusing, pattern completion, criterion setting d) criterion setting, feature binding, pattern separation, focusing, pattern completion Answer: c Page Ref: 335-336 44) Which of the following CAN NOT be explained as a failure in the source monitoring process? a) imagination inflation b) misinformation effect c) unconscious transference d) weapon focus Answer: d Page Ref: 337-338 45) Jill is trying to remember whether she turned off the coffee-pot this morning before she left for class. She is having trouble determining whether the memory she has of turning off the coffee-pot is from this morning or from yesterday morning. She is engaging in the process of: a) feature-binding. b) pattern separation. c) source monitoring. d) pattern completion. 117
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Answer: c Page Ref: 338 46) All of these are stages of the constructive memory process proposed by Schacter and colleagues except: a) feature binding. b) criterion setting. c) imagination inflation. d) focusing. Answer: c Page Ref: 338 47) Williams (1994) attempted to corroborate individual cases of lost traumatic memories by finding individuals who had been admitted 17 years earlier to sexual abuse clinics and interviewing them about their current knowledge of the experience. The findings are interpreted as evidence ____ the reality of repressed then recovered memories because __________: a) for; over 1/3 failed to remember the event for which they had been admitted. b) for; all of them failed to remember the event for which they had been admitted. c) against; all of them vividly remembered the event for which they had been admitted. Answer: a Page Ref: 340 48) Corroboated cases of repressed then recovered memories have a number of commonalities. These commonalities include all of the following except: a) cues in the recovery situation represent aspects of the original experience. b) gradually recovery, over a period of days or weeks. c) the memory had been previously reported, then forgotten. d) extreme shock and emotion once the memory is recovered. Answer: b Page Ref: 340 49) Analysis of case studies of corroborated recovered memories reveals that they obey which memory principle? a) the outshining hypothesis b) the von Restorff effect c) levels of processing d) the encoding specificity principle Answer: d Page Ref: 340-341 50) High levels of stress enhance the function of the brain’s _____ but tend to disrupt the functioning of the _____. This pattern may lead to some of the characteristics associated with repressed then recovered memories. a) amygdala; hippocampus b) hippocampus; amygdala c) frontal lobe; cerebellum d) cerebellum; frontal lobe
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ESSAY QUESTIONS 1.
What are the seven sins of memory? Name and describe each one, and provide an example for two of them. Page Ref: 306
2.
Eyewitness memory can be influenced by event-related factors; What are some of these factors? Page Ref: 309-310
3.
Explain how stress and trauma can enhance or impair eyewitness memory for different sorts of details, along with some of the evidence for these effects. Page Ref: 310-312.
4.
What is the misinformation effect? Describe the classic study by Loftus, Miller, and Burns (1978) where subjects were asked about a stop or yield sign in the car accident. How do the results support the misinformation effect? Page Ref: 313
5.
What is unconscious transference? How might unconscious transference relate to change blindness? Page Ref: 314-315.
6.
What are four possible outcomes in a lineup situation? Which of these is the best and which is the worst? Page Ref: 317
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What are simultaneous and sequential lineups? What judgment strategies tend to be used for each type of lineup? Which type of lineup is the best and why? Page Ref: 318-319
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What are the four primary features of the cognitive interview technique? What conclusions can be reached about the effectiveness of this technique? Page Ref: 320-321
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Roediger and McDermott created the Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm for investigating illusory memories. Describe a typical experiment using this paradigm. What are typical results from this type of experiment? Page Ref: 323
10. Researchers have investigated whether people can be induced into falsely remembering complex events, like getting lost in a shopping mall when they were children. What is the effect of imagination, pictures and stories on generating these types of false memories? Page Ref: 326-330 11. Give the basic idea behind fuzzy-trace theory, the constructive memory framework, and the idea of source confusion. Page Ref: 336-337. 12. What are the key questions that must be answered to address the repressed memory controversy? Describe each question, and give some account of how the evidence has addressed that question. Page Ref: 339-345
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Language: Basic Principles A. Linguistics and Psycholinguistics B. Words and Rules C. Design Features of Language D. Language in Nonhuman Animals 1. Language Training Projects 2. Labeling: Is It Word Learning? 3. Language as Learning To Do What You Are Told 4. Language as Engaging in Social Routines a. Kanzi and the Bonobos E. Levels of Analysis F. Stop and Review II. Phonology: The Sounds of Language A. Phones and Phonemes 1. Producing Phonemes 2. Perceiving Phonemes a. The Importance of Context B. Stop and Review III. Morphology: From Sounds to Words A. Producing (or “Morphing”) the Spoken Word B. Perceiving the Spoken Word 1. Discerning Word Boundaries a. Bottom-Up Factors i. Using Statistical Probabilities to Determine Boundaries b. Top-Down Factors i. Mondegreens 2. The Mental Lexicon a. Factors Affecting Lexical Access i. The Bilingual Lexicon b. Entrance into the Mental Lexicon: Word Learning C. Stop and Review IV. Syntax and Ssemantics: From Words to Sentences A . Transformational Grammar 1. Phrase Structure, Surface Structure, and Deep Structure 2. Challenges to Chomsky a. (Non?)-Universal Grammar b. Language: Not so Unlearnable? i. Child-Directed Speech B. Stop and Review V. Pragmatics: The Social Aspects of Language A. Conversational Structure B. Gender and Conversation C. Stop and Review VI. Putting it All Together: Language Perception and Production A. Speech Production 1. Stages of Speech Production a. Conceptualizing b. Planning and Articulating i. Slips of the Tongue c. Self-Monitoring B. Speech Perception C. Motor Theory of Speech Perception
Instructor Resources for Cognitive Psychology
D. Auditory Theory of Speech Perception E. A Re-Assessment: Kind of Special? F. Stop and Review
STOP AND THINK ELABORATIONS The Essential Features of Language (p. 352) You could use this exercise to discuss whether or not animal communication “counts” as language by discussing whether the animal language demonstrations satisfy the design features that students felt were most defining of language. What’s Your Mouth Doing? (p. 362) This can be a fun activity to do in class. Having students, in unison, produce phonemes always creates a little levity. Say it with (Opposite) Feeling! (p. 368) This exercise might seem a little strange, but it will sensitize students to the critical role that tone plays in processing language. You might even propose that students set up a small experiment in which they read sentences with different types of content in different tones, and have participants make some kind of decision about each sentence. Anna Lizing Miss Hurd Lyrics (p. 372) Many of these misheard lyrics are funny and students love to relay them to others in class. Have students visit the site www.kissthisguy.com to find some classic misheard lyrics. Be a Conversational Pain (p. 386) This is a fun one to discuss in class. “Participant” reactions are often funny and students should enjoy relating these reactions. Innocent Eavesdropping (p. 388) You could have students bring in copies of e-mails in which they are talking to a woman or a man and have the class try and determine the gender of the recipient. You could also bring in some of your own e-mails to class for this exercise. Fridian Sleups (p. 394) If students cite examples of slips that could have a Freudian motivation, discuss what type of slip it was and why that type of slip may be most likely to have a Freudian motivation. We have found that slips most likely to have a Freudian motivation are substitution errors.
DISCUSSION STARTERS Aping Language?: The issue of whether nonhuman animals can communicate with language is always a good one for class discussion. Students are inherently interested in the topic, and will bring a variety of opinions to the table. You might ask which example from the text is the strongest example. You might also ask if there are any ramifications to the possible similarities between animals and humans (for example, what ramifications does it have for the use of animals in research?) Analyzing Accents: Citing and reflecting on accents is an interesting class activity. Students get a kick out of noting the wild variations on speech, and on reflection, it does seem surprising that we so easily recognize the spoken word. You might also ask them to reflect on any experiences they might have had abroad, and whether they had any misadventures in speech perception. Mondegreens: Students get a real kick out of this discussion. The mis-hearing of song lyrics (not to mention other vocal communications) provide great (and amusing) examples of top-down and bottom-up processing and their failures and successes. Gender Differences in Conversation: There is little doubt that females and males differ in their styles of communication. Have students reflect on and discuss the possible sources for these differences.
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INTERNET RESOURCES Researchers, Institutes, and Organizations UCSC Perceptual Science Lab (Dominic Massaro) http://mambo.ucsc.edu/dwm.html Infant Learning Lab (Jennifer Saffran) http://www.waisman.wisc.edu/infantlearning/Welcome.html National Reading Panel http://www.nationalreadingpanel.org/ Center for Research on Language http://crl.ucsd.edu/ Language and cognitive Neuroscience Lab at Madison (Mark Seidenberg) http://lcnl.wisc.edu/overview/ Steven Pinker http://pinker.wjh.harvard.edu/research/index.html Pinneped Cognition and Sensory Systems Laboratory http://www.pinnipedlab.org/ The Alex Foundation http://www.alexfoundation.org/index2.htm The Great Ape Project http://www.greatapeproject.org/index.php The Gorilla Foundation www.koko.org Deborah Tannen http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/tannend/ Great Ape Trust (Sue Savage-Rumbaugh) http://www.greatapetrust.org/science/scientists-biographies/sue-savage-rumbaugh
Miscellaneous informational sites Musical Mondegreens www.kissthisguy.com Why Files (Pages on language learning in infants, including demos) http://whyfiles.org/058language/ CogBlogs
Sleepless Honey Bees Miscommunicate, Too http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101213151359.htm
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How can we measure "integration"? http://www.talkingbrains.org/2010/10/how-can-we-measure-integration.html On Speech Intelligibility http://www.talkingbrains.org/2010/12/more-on-intelligibility-guest-post-from.html Measuring Fatigue Through the Voice: Speech 'Flattens' After 24 Hours Awake http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101222141727.htm Psychologists Show How Accent Shapes Our Perception of a Person http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101217145649.htm Factors Linked to Speech, Swallowing Problems After Treatment for Head and Neck Cancers http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101220163244.htm
Our Brains Are Wired So We Can Better Hear Ourselves Speak http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101209101515.htm
Imitating Someone's Accent Makes It Easier to Understand Them http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101206161826.htm Newly Identified Brain Pathways Vital to Understanding Language http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101116205012.htm Brain Region Responsible for Speech Illusion Identified; Study Explains How Visual Cues Disrupt Speech Perception http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101116210236.htm Bilingual Benefits Reach Beyond Communication http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101109113028.htm Human Mind Uses Syntax to Interpret Actions http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101104154559.htm Neurobiologist finds link between music education and improved speech recognition http://www.talkingbrains.org/2010/11/guest-post-by-pamelia-brown.html Speakers with a foreign accent are perceived as less credible - and not just because of prejudice http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2010/10/speakers-with-foreign-accent-are.html Life Without Language http://neuroanthropology.net/2010/07/21/life-without-language/ We Prefer People Who Sound Like Us http://danapress.typepad.com/weblog/2010/11/we-prefer-people-who-sound-like-us.html
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TEST ITEMS MULTIPLE CHOICE 1) The term “mental lexicon” refers: a) primarily to the words of language. b) primarily to the rules of language. c) both to the words and to the rules of language. d) to neither the words nor the rules of language. Answer: a Page Ref: 350 2) “Bridget stayed up until 3:00 on Wednesday night watching news coverage of the election.” You have never heard this sentence before. However because of the language design feature of ________ you are able to understand the meaning of each of the words.. a) discreteness b) reflectiveness c) semanticity d) productivity Answer: c Page Ref: 350 3) American Sign Language (unlike spoken language) is NOT characterized by which design feature? a) productivity b) arbitrariness c) reflectiveness d) semanticity Answer: b Page Ref: 350-351 4) The design feature of language that allows us to communicate ideas that are remote in space and time is: a) discreteness. b) specialization. c) productivity. d) displacement. Answer: d Page Ref: 351 5) You are taking a test about language. Your ability to think about language in order to complete the test is an example of which design feature? a) productivity b) arbitrariness c) reflectiveness d) semanticity Answer: c Page Ref: 351 6) Which design feature of language could also be termed creativity? a) productivity b) arbitrariness c) specialization d) semanticity Answer: a Page Ref: 351
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7) When children lie and deceive their parents to keep out of trouble, they are using which design feature of language? a) arbitrariness b) specialization c) displacement d) prevarication Answer: d Page Ref: 351 8) Which of the following design features of language do animal communication systems possess, at least to some extent? a) prevarication b) semanticity c) productivity d) displacement Answer: b Page Ref: 352 9) Although Alex the parrot is quite adept at naming objects, critics are uncertain whether the labels he uses truly represent that object in his mind. That is, they question whether his use of the labels is truly: a) accurate. b) reflective. c) referential. d) productive. Answer: c Page Ref: 354 10) In their research with Kanzi and other bonobo chimps, Savage-Rumbaugh and colleagues have investigated whether language can be acquired in the form of: a) American Sign Language. b) Braille. c) motioning. d) lexigrams. Answer: d Page Ref: 355 11) Cross-fostering studies would be best represented by the word/phrase: a) contrived. b) natural. c) artificial. d) formal instruction. Answer: b Page Ref: 355 12) The most impressive evidence that animals are indeed capable of learning language comes from the research done with: a) Kanzi. b) Alex. c) Rockie. d) Washoe. Answer: a Page Ref: 355-356
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13) All of following statements are true of research with Kanzi, except: a) Kanzi needed intense and explicit training to begin extensive use of language symbols. b) Kanzi started using signs spontaneously. c) Kanzi generated thousands of utterances that followed syntactic rules. d) Kanzi made up his own grammatical rules. Answer: a Page Ref: 355-356 14) Some African languages allow two consonants to appear together at the beginning of a word (as in Nkomo); English does not allow this to occur unless the first consonant is an “s” (as in skull). This example illustrates a difference in the ______ of the two languages. a) morphology b) syntax c) phonology d) semantics Answer: c Page Ref: 359 15) _______ represents a phonetic difference (but not a phonemic difference). a) The “g” in dog and the “g” in log b) The “d” in dog and the “l” in log c) The “t” in pit and the “th” in with d) The “p” in pit and the “s” in sit Answer: a Page Ref: 360 16) About how many phonemes make up American English? a) 10 b) 25 c) 45 d) 105 Answer: a Page Ref: 360 17) Place of articulation is to manner of articulation as ________ is to ________. a) release; vibration b) vocal cords; air flow c) interrupt; stop d) where; how Answer: d Page Ref: 360-361 18) The phoneme /p/ is termed bilabial; the phoneme /th/ is termed dental. The two italicized terms refer to: a) phones. b) voicing. c) manner of articulation. d) place of articulation. Answer: d Page Ref: 360-361 19) Aspects of the speech signal like rate, stress, and tone, are termed: a) categorical factors b) suprasegmental factors c) phones d) coarticulation factors Answer: b Page Ref: 362
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20) The /t/ sound in the word “tip” has different phonetic properties than the /t/ sound in “tap.” This demonstrates _______. In spite of this phenomenon, we tend to hear these words as ______. a) categorical perception; invariant b) categorical perception; variable c) coarticulation; variable d) coarticulation; invariant Answer: d Page Ref: 363 21) Our tendency to perceive phonemes in a relatively broad fashion, not discriminating between subtle shadings in the way particular phonemes sound is termed: a) coarticulation. b) suprasegmentation. c) categorical perception. d) semantic parsing. Answer: c Page Ref: 363 22) The phomemic restoration effect is often cited as evidence for the role of ______ in ______. a) top-down processing; speech perception b) top-down processing; speech production c) bottom-up processing; speech perception d) bottom-up processing; speech production Answer: a Page Ref: 365 23) A ______ is the smallest unit of language that carries meaning. a) phone b) phoneme c) morpheme d) word Answer: c Page Ref: 367 24) The word unhappiness has ____ bound morphemes and ____ free morphemes. a) 1; 2 b) 2; 1 c) 1; 1 d) 2; 2 Answer: b Page Ref: 365 25) Pinker proposes that in order to “morph” words into different forms (i.e., past tense), we have: a) one system that is associative; we encode associations between the past and present tense, and use them to retrieve one another. b) one system that operates via rules; we use these rules (e.g., “add an -s to make a plural”) to morph words. c) two systems; we use the rule system for exceptions, and the associative system for non-exceptions. d) two systems; we use the rule system for non-exceptions, and the associative system for exceptions. Answer: d Page Ref: 366
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26) One model of spoken word recognition proposes that words are recognized by activating the entire set of possible words based on the words initial sound (/b/ activates bow, bowl, bug, bought, etc), with a subsequent narrowing of the candidate set as more of the word is perceived. This is called the ________ model. a) cohort b) neighbors c) activation d) motor Answer: a Page Ref: 367 27) The cohort model proposes that when we hear the word basketball, the first step in word recognition is: a) activating all of the words that relate to the meaning of basketball. b) activation of all of the words that look similar to the word basketball. c) activation of no concepts at all except for the word basketball. d) activation of all of the words that begin with the same sounds as basketball. Answer: b Page Ref: 367 28) Nygaard and Queen (2008) found that the emotional prosody of word pronunciation: a) had no effect on word recognition. b) facilitated word recognition, but only when the emotional prosody matched the tone of the word. b) facilitated word recognition, but only when the emotional prosody mismatched the tone of the word. b) facilitated word recognition in all cases. Answer: b Page Ref: 367-368 29) Top-down factors in discerning spoken word boundaries include: a) previous knowledge of what the speaker is talking about. b) metrical segmentation. c) statistical regularities in the spoken word signal. d) mondegreens. Answer: a Page Ref: 368-370 30) Saffran, Aslin, and Newport (1996) presented infants with a continuous speech stream made up of four different three-syllable nonsense words, for a total of two minutes. Then they tested whether infants had picked up on “word boundaries” by presenting these nonsense words and new sequences. The infants showed a preference for ______, demonstrating that they _______. a) neither sequence; had picked up on the word boundaries of the original nonsense words b) neither sequence; had failed to pick up on the word boundaries of the original nonsense words c) listening to the new sequences; had picked up on the word boundaries of the original nonsense words d) listening to the new sequences; had failed to pick up on the word boundaries of the original nonsense words Answer: c Page Ref: 370-371 31) Misheard word boundaries, which often make understanding song lyrics difficult on the first few times you hear a song (and sometimes longer!) have been dubbed: a) Singing Bees. b) Mondegreens. c) Lyrical Errors. d) Earbugs. Answer: b Page Ref: 371-372
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32) Which of the statements about the mental lexicon and lexical access is true? a) Only one meaning of an ambiguous word (e.g., bank) is activated upon word presentation. b) Low-frequency words are more quickly accessed than are high-frequency words. c) For bilinguals, a given concept has only one entry in the mental lexicon. d) The mental lexicon is part of semantic memory. Answer: b Page Ref: 373 33) The sentence, “Colorless green ideas sleep furiously” violates: a) the rules of both syntax and semantics. b) the rules of syntax but not semantics. c) neither the rules of syntax nor semantics. d) the rules of semantics, but not syntax. Answer: d Page Ref: 376-377 34) Chomsky’s approach to how we engage in language is termed: a) transformational grammar. b) constraint-based grammar. c) phonetic grammar. d) syntactic based grammar. Answer: a Page Ref: 378 35) The sentences, “John is easy to please,” and “It is easy to please John” are: a) identical in both surface and deep structure. b) identical in deep structure, but differ in surface structure. c) identical in surface structure, but differ in deep structure. d) different in both deep and surface structure. Answer: b Page Ref: 379-380 36) The constraint-based approach to grammar: a) contends that language ability is innate. b) proposes that environmental input may offer enough data to pick up on syntactic structures. c) is inconsistent with research demonstrating infants’ abilities to pick up on word boundaries. d) is a serial/information-processing approach to explaining language acquisition. Answer: b Page Ref: 381 37) Constraint-based approach is to transformational grammar as _______ is to ____________. a) modular; non-modular b) serial; parallel c) learned; innate d) sentence learning; word learning Answer: b Page Ref: 381 38) All of the following statements are true about “motherese” EXCEPT: a) it tends to be higher pitched than normal speech. b) it is found across many different languages. c) it features exaggerated ups and downs in pitch. d) it tends to be faster than normal speech. Answer: d Page Ref: 382-383
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39) Kempe, Shaeffler, and Thoresen (2010) investigated the relationship between emotional and linguistic prosodic inherent in child-directed speech (CDS) by having mothers and nonmothers interact with children. They found: a) that children were aided more in disambiguating a spoken instruction if it did not come from their mother. b) that children were aided more in disambiguating a spoken instruction if it came from their mother. c) that linguistic prosodic cues disrupted emotional prosodic cues. d) that extremely exaggerated pauses were helpful to syntactic disambiguation. Answer: a Page Ref: 383-384 39) Which of these is NOT a common feature of conversational structure? a) an ABBABBA structure between speakers b) people’s turns vary widely in length c) people have “stock openers” (e.g., “How’s it going?”) to start conversation. d) observance of pragmatic principles Answer: a Page Ref: 385 40) Gricean maxims in language indicate that our conversational partners should conform to all of the following EXCEPT: a) avoidance of ambiguity. b) relevance. c) grammatical correctness. d) truthfulness. Answer: c Ref: 385-386 41) Recent research comparing the number of words used by male and female speakers: a) reveals that males use over three times as many words in their speech as females. b) reveals that females use over three times as many words in their speech as males. c) reveals little difference in the number of words used by males and females. d) The number of words in natural conversation has never been measured. Answer: c Ref: 388-389 42) Which of these is NOT one of the stages of language production? a) planning b) assembly c) self-monitoring d) conceptualization Answer: b Page Ref: 389 43) If someone says they have to “twitch on the television” (instead of “switch on the television”) they have committed: a) a blend. b) a perseveration error. c) a substitution error. d) an anticipation error. Answer: d Page Ref: 390-391 44) A person intended to say, “Do you want nuts on your sundae?” but instead said, “Do you want sundaes on your nut?” This is a slip of the tongue at the: a) word level. b) morpheme level. c) phoneme level. d) syntax level.
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Answer: a Page Ref: 391 45) The research by Motley and Baars that looked at the possibility of motivated Freudian slips (i.e., the GOXYFURL experiment): a) found no evidence for the Freudian interpretation of slips. b) found evidence for motivated slips in the shock condition. c) found evidence for motivated slips in the sex condition. d) found evidence for motivated slips in both the shock and sex condition. Answer: d Page Ref: 393 46) Research indicates that the internal speech monitoring process is especially sensitive to _____ factors. a) semantic, rather than phonological b) phonological, rather than semantic c) syntactic, rather than semantic d) semantic, rather than syntactic Answer: b Page Ref: 395 47) The modular view of language: a) states that language ability operates via the same mechanisms devoted to other cognitive processes. b) states that language ability is special, and operates via mechanisms distinct from those devoted to other cognitive processes. c) would propose that speech perception is an ability shared by many species, not just humans. d) is inconsistent with evidence indicating that lyrics and tunes are processed separately in the brain. Answer: b: Page Ref: 396 48) The motor theory of speech perception: a) would predict that only humans can comprehend speech. b) proposes that speech perception operates via regular auditory perceptual mechanisms. c) is inconsistent with the incredible speed of speech perception. d) is inconsistent with the phenomenon of categorical perception. Answer: a Page Ref: 396-397 49) Which of these serves as evidence for the motor theory of speech perception? a) coarticulation b) speech seems too quick for regular perceptual mechanisms to take care of it c) the phonemic restoration effect d) the finding that non-humans do seem capable of perceiving speech Answer: b Page Ref: 396-397 50) The evidence for speech being “special” a) is quite strong. b) is quite weak. c) is mixed. d) is so weak that the “special” status of speech isn’t even a question that’s pursued by researchers. Answer: c Page Ref: 397-399
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ESSAY 1) Describe five of the design features of language. For each one you choose, comment on whether that feature has been observed in animal communication. Page Ref: 350-357 2) Describe the central aspects of Savage-Rumbaugh’s work with Kanzi. How did Kanzi learn the lexigraphic language, and how far did her language progress? Finally, what makes the research with Kanzi and other Bonobos some of the most compelling evidence for animal language? Page Ref: 355-357 3) Define phone and phoneme. What’s the difference between them? What are some of the processes and movements involved in producing phonemes? What is coarticulation? Page Ref: 361-362 4) Describe these aspects of speech perception: invariance, categorical perception, and coarticulation. What would it mean to say that, “coarticulation necessitates categorical perception”? Page Ref: 363-364 5) Discuss the importance of context in speech perception and describe the phonemic restoration effect. Page Ref: 364 6) What is a morpheme? What are the two main views of how we morph words from one form to another (e.g., from singular to plural)? Page Ref: 366 7) Describe the cohort model of speech perception. What are the main findings that support this view? What is one main problem with this view? Page Ref: 367 8) Discuss the role of bottom-up and top-down processing in allowing us to detect word boundaries. Describe Saffran, Aslin, & Newport’s (1996) finding that suggested infants can pick up on word boundaries. Is this topdown or bottom-up? Explain. Page Ref: 368-371 9) What is the mental lexicon? What are some basic finding with regard to lexical access? How does the bilingual lexicon differ from the typical lexicon? Page Ref: 373 10) Discuss Chomsky’s theory of transformational grammar, including definitions of surface structure and deep structure. Give examples of: sentences with different surface structure and same deep structure; sentences with same surface structure and different deep structures. What is one serious objection to the idea of a “universal grammar”? Page Ref: 377-380 11) What’s the basic idea behind the constraint-based approach to language learning, and how does it contrast with Chomsky’s approach? Page Ref: 381-382 12) What are some of the characteristics of child-directed speech? How does it help in picking up the characteristics of language? Page Ref: 382-383 13) Describe some of the major features of conversation? What are some gender differences that exist (and do not exist) in conversation? Page Ref: 385-387
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14) Describe each of the stages thought to be involved in language production. Page Ref: 389-390 15) Name five different types of slips of the tongue, and give an example of each. What role might motivational factors play in producing speech slips? Discuss the Motley and Baars study. Page Ref: 391-392 16) Discuss the modular and non-modular approaches to language — what are the basic assumptions underlying each? Page Ref: 396 4) Give the major assumptions underlying the motor theory of speech perception. What evidence indicates that speech perception requires a special mechanism? Page Ref: 396-397 5) What are the reasons researchers give for thinking that “speech is special”? What are some counter arguments to the ”speech is special” camp? Page Ref: 397-399
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CHAPTER 10: LANGUAGE II: READING AND COMPREHENDING TEXT Language II: Processing the Written Word I. Mechanical Aspects of Reading A. Top-Down and Bottom-Up Processes in Reading B. Eye Movements 1. Methodology 2. Saccades and Fixations a. When vs. Where b. Word Skipping c. Regressive Saccades 3. Perceptual Span C. Stop and Review II. Word Recognition A. Dyslexia 1. Dyslexia and the Brain B. How Should Reading Be Taught? C. Anglo-Centric Language Studies D. Reading Myths 1. Do We Rceoginze Wrods as a Wohle? E. Stop and Review III. Sentence Level Processing A. Sentence Parsing 1. The Importance of Syntax 2. The importance of Semantics 3. Which Takes Precedence: Syntax or Semantics? B. Stop and Review IV. Discourse Comprehension A. Levels of Representation B. Structure and Coherence 1. Anaphoric Reference 2. Given and New Information 3. Inferences a. Types of Inferences i. When are Inferences Made? V. Discourse Memory and Representation A. Memory for Discourse 1. Gist vs. Verbatim Memory B. Models of Discourse Comprehension 1. Schemas and Scripts 2. Story Grammars 3. The Construction-Integration Model 4. Structure Building C. Metacomprehension D. Speed Reading E. Stop and Review
Chapter 10
Language II: Reading and Comprehending Text
STOP AND THINK ELABORATIONS Reading from the Top Down (p. 404) You could use this exercise to bring up the problem of proof-reading your own papers and why it is so difficult. You could bring up the merits of spell check in word processing and discuss why it is helpful for proofreading. You could also have students analyze spelling errors that were still present in papers turned into other classes — have them assess why these errors occurred despite presumably careful proofreading Reogcnziing Jmulebd Wrods (p. 338) This exercise provides a straightforward way to investigate the phenomenon cited in the apocryphal study that just about every student in our classes seems to know. This procedure allows for pretty easy manipulation of other variables. It would be fairly easy to work with which letters are manipulated, and test even more conditions than the ones listed. Skipping Up the Garden Path (p. 420) Rather than having students find these newspaper headlines you could go the website listed in the Internet Resources section and bring some examples to class for the students to analyze. War of the Inferences (p. 432) You could use this as an opportunity to warn students about the fact that professors do not make inferences when grading papers. If it is not explicitly written down, it will not be inferred. You could have students look at papers previously written for classes and determine if inferences would need to made to understand the paper. This warning should help students when writing papers. Scripting Memory Distortions (p. 436) The work of Bartlett, and his participants' errant, but sensible, recall of War of the Ghosts provides a nice touchstone for students to think back to memory distortions. This exercise will get them to consider the scripts they enact each day, and will make the likelihood of script-based memory distortion even more apparent than it may already be.
DISCUSSION STARTERS Reading Difficulties: Since reading is one of the main things that students have to do, have them introspect on the process a bit and reflect on their own processing. When do they notice regressive saccades that indicate difficult reading? What are the situational and contextual factors that are present? Learning Differences: Discussion of dyslexia and other reading difficulties is a good teachable moment to set students straight on the nature of dyslexia. It's a real problem, not indicative of general intellectual ability, and doesn't consist of reversing letters or words, as the silly stereotype implies. Another interesting (and controversial) topic of discussion is how/whether those who have learning differences should be accommodated on standardized tests, such as the ACT. For example, should time limits be removed for these students? Favorite Writers: This one depends a bit on having students who read for pleasure. Have them consider why their favorite authors are their favorite authors, from the standpoint of the material they're reading on discourse coherence and memory. What makes these authors compelling and effective in this way? Writer's Block: All students face this problem, and some critical analysis of when and why it may occur would provide for some interesting and useful discussion. Does it relate in any systematic way to the four stages of the writing process outlined by Kellogg? Are there situational factors that seem to be present when student writers hit blocks?
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INTERNET RESOURCES Keith Rayner http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~rayner/ Dyslexia: The Gift http://www.dyslexia.com/ Linguistics Society of America http://www.lsadc.org/web2/index.html Literacy Research Association http://www.nrconline.org/ National Reading Styles Institute http://www.nrsi.com/ National Reading Panel http://www.nationalreadingpanel.org/
COG BLOGS Reading for Imaginative Play http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/imagine/201011/reading-imaginative-play Language May Help Create, Not Just Convey, Thoughts and Feelings http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101103111206.htm Harder-to-read fonts boost student learning http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2010/12/harder-to-read-fonts-boost-student.html Neuroimaging Helps to Predict Which Dyslexics Will Learn to Read http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101220163059.htm Widening Our Perceptions of Reading and Writing Difficulties http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101208125809.ht Eye Movement Problems Common Cause of Reading Difficulties in Stroke Patients http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101201102555.htm People Who Stutter Show Abnormal Brain Activity When Reading and Listening http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101116205137.htm Handedness and Language-Related Disorders: Gene Discovery Supports Link http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101028141759.htm How Reading Rewires the Brain http://mindblog.dericbownds.net/2010/12/how-reading-rewires-brain.html The Educational Benefit of Ugly Fonts http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/01/the-benefit-of-ugly-fonts/
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TEST ITEMS MULTIPLE CHOICE 1) Which of these describes the bottom-up processes in reading? a) Reading is aided by expectations. b) Reading is aided by context. c) Reading is aided by other words. d) Reading requires analysis of the printed symbols. Answer: d Page Ref: 401 2) Saccades are to fixations as ________ is to________. a) long; short b) reading; listening c) non-informational; informational d) start; stop Answer: c Page Ref: 402 3) Word fixations typically last around ____. a) 2 seconds b) 1 second c) ¾ second d) ¼ second Answer: d Page Ref: 402 4) A word like power is termed a ______ word, and the likelihood we would fixate on it during reading is about _____. a) content; 40% b) content; 80% c) function; 40% d) function; 80% Answer: b Page Ref: 403 4) A word like the is termed a ______ word, and the likelihood we would fixate on it during reading is about _____. a) content; 40% b) content; 80% c) function; 40% d) function; 80% Answer: c Page Ref: 403 5) High frequency words like robin receive _____ fixation as/than low-frequency words like penguin. a) the same amount of b) more c) less Answer: c Page Ref: 403
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6) Word-skipping data indicate that: a) low frequency words are more likely to be skipped than are high-frequency words. b) word length is the best predictor of whether a word will be skipped or not. c) highly constrained words are less likely to be skipped. d) content words are more likely to be skipped than are function words. Answer: b Page Ref: 402-404 7) Regressive saccades: a) only occur in poor readers. b) constitute about 1/2 of all saccades. c) are symptomatic of reading difficulties, but aren't the cause. d) have the same characteristics in good and poor readers; poor readers just have more of them. Answer: c Page Ref: 404 8) Perceptual span (for English) is about ________ characters to the left, and ________ characters to the right. a) 3; 15 b) 6; 10 c) 15; 3 d) 10; 6 Answer: a Page Ref: 404-405 9) All of the following are functions of the blank spaces between words except: a) they allow the reader a split second to rest. b) they help indicate the length of upcoming words. c) they provide information about the length of words currently being read. d) they make words physically easier to see. Answer: a Page Ref: 406 10) A study by Van Orden (1987) had participants perform a category verification task. Participants were presented with a category name (e.g., flower), followed by one of three types of stimuli: (1) a category member, like daffodil; (2) a homophone of a member of the category, like rows, or (3) a word with orthography similar to a category member, like robs. Participants tended to miscategorize items from ________ most frequently, supporting the ________ access view of word recognition. a) condition one; direct b) condition three; direct c) condition two; indirect d) condition three; indirect Answer: a Page Ref: 407 11) Luo, Johnson, & Gallo (1998) tested whether “pseudohomophones” (e.g., “brane”) would show effects of semantic relatedness. In other words, would the letter string “brane” prime a related concept (e.g., neuron)? What did they find? a) That access to the mental lexicon was most probably direct. b) Pseudohomophones primed only the actual word (e.g., “brain,” in this example). c) Pseudohomophones did not prime related concepts. d) Pseudohomophones did prime related concepts. Answer: d Page Ref: 407
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12) Dyslexics have particular trouble: a) reading words in the correct order. b) recognizing words when they hear them. c) mapping the look of a word onto its sound. d) performing normally on standard measures of intelligence. Answer: c Page Ref: 409 13) All of the following statements are true of dyslexia except: a) it's typically something a child outgrows. b) it's characterized by poor spelling. c) it's a problem mapping orthography to the sounds of words. d) it's characterized by a lack of phonological awareness. Answer: a Page Ref: 409 14) The “neural signature” of dyslexia seems to be impaired processing in the brain's: a) frontal-temporal regions. b) occipito-temporal regions. c) frontal lobe. d) parietal lobe. Answer: b Page Ref: 410 15) The importance of indirect access in word recognition would seem to imply that the best approach to teaching children to read is the ________ approach. Research evidence ________. a) phonics; fails to support this b) phonics; supports this c) whole-word; fails to support this d) whole-word; supports this Answer: b Page Ref: 410 16) Bai, Yan, Zang, Liversedge, & Rayner investigated word/character recognition in written Chinese. Their major question was whether characters or words would prove to be the fundamental unit of processing in reading Chinese. Their results indicated that: a) spacing out the characters more than usual enhanced performance. b) word spacing led to better reading performance than the spacing typically used in written Chinese. c) word spacing led to poorer performance than the spacing typically used in written Chinese. d) word spacing led to equal performance, relative to the spacing typically used in written Chinese. Answer: b Page Ref: 412 17) Rayner, White, Johnson, and Liversedge (2006) examined fixation times for words that were normal or jumbled. They found that a) words with the internal letters transposed had the longest fixation times. b) words with the initial letter transposed had the longest fixation times. c) fixation times for normal words and for words with ending letters transposed were the same. d) there was no difference between words with internal, ending, or beginning letters transposed. Answer: b Page Ref: 414
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18) Perea, Acha, & Carreiras (2009) investigated the reading comprehension of text messages and found that: a) orthographically based text messages were comprehended just as effectively as normal text. b) phonetically based text messages were comprehended just as effectively as normal text. c) both orthographically- and phonetically based text messages were comprehended just as effectively as normal text. d) neither orthographically- nor phonetically based text messages were comprehended just as effectively as normal text. Answer: d Page Ref: 416 19) What is parsing? a) the process of accessing word meaning b) the process of converting syntax into semantics c) the process of identifying the component elements of a sentence d) the process of mapping the look of a word onto the sound of a word Answer: c Page ref: 418 20) Which of these is a garden-path sentence? a) They are cooking rocks. b) The horse raced past the barn fell. c) John went to the grocery store and bought a car. d) Susan walked up the garden path. Answer: b Page Ref: 419 21) The garden path approach assumes that we implicitly follow two assumptions in comprehending a sentence. One, termed ________ means basically that we assume the syntax of a sentence is as simple as possible. The other, termed ________ means that we try to place the word currently being encountered into the phrase currently being constructed. a) minimal attachment; late closure b) late closure; minimal attachment c) garden pathing; parsing d) parsing; garden pathing Answer: b Page Ref: 419 22) The difficulty in processing garden-path sentences: a) confirms that the default structure in English syntax tends to be subject-object-verb. b) is evidence against the garden-path approach. c) is evident in reading times, but not in eye movements. d) applies to blind readers of Braille. Answer: d Page Ref: 419-420 23) The ________ approach emphasizes the role of semantics (rather than syntax) in parsing sentences. a) transformational grammar b) case grammar c) garden-path d) constraint-based Answer: b Page Ref: 420
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24) Pickering and Traxler (1998) gave some participants garden-path sentences in which both interpretations made sense (e.g., As the woman edited the magazine amused all the reporters) and gave other participants garden-path sentences in which only one interpretation really made sense (e.g., As the woman sailed the magazine amused all the reporters). What did their results indicate? a) They showed stronger garden-path effects for plausible sentences. b) They showed stronger garden-path effects for implausible sentences. c) They showed equal-sized garden-path effects for plausible and implausible sentences. d) They failed to replicate the comprehension difficulties of garden-path sentences. Answer: a Page Ref: 422 25) Which of these is NOT one of the levels of discourse representation? a) situation model b) surface code c) text base d) analog code Answer: d Page Ref: 423 26) Ditman, Brunye, Mahoney, & Taylor (2009) investigated the role of embodiment in text comprehension by varying the pronoun used to describe a three-sentence piece of discourse that described an activity. Comprehension was best when the pronoun subjects were reading was: a) Me. b) You. c) They. d) She. Answer: b Page Ref: 423-428 27) Global structure refers to ________, while local structure refers to ________. a) the degree of connection between individual ideas in a passage of prose; the general knowledge we bring to bear on what we're comprehending b) the general knowledge we bring to bear on what we're comprehending; the degree of connection between individual ideas in a passage of prose c) coherence; anaphoric reference d) anaphoric reference; coherence Answer: b Page Ref: 424 28) “Jim thought his golf game was pretty bad, so he decided to get some new clubs.” In this sentence, the word “he” is a(n): a) inference. b) antecedent. c) anaphor. d) text base. Answer: c Page Ref: 425 29) Anaphors are more likely to result in the successful retrieval of an appropriate antecedent when: a) the antecedent has occurred recently. b) the antecedent received first mention. c) both factors mentioned in a and b are important. d) neither factor mentioned in a and b are important. Answer: c Page Ref: 425
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30) Suppose a friend says, “I'm so nervous about that big test tomorrow.” In this sentence, the given information is a) that the speaker is nervous. a) that there's a test tomorrow. b) the fact that the test is going to be difficult. c) the implicit assumption that you will take turns in the conversation. Answer: a Page Ref: 426 31) In a classic study of how inferences are processed in text comprehension, Kintsch (1974) presented one group of participants with two sentences that explicitly stated some fact. Another group received two sentences that only implied that fact. Kintsch was interested in how readily participants inferred the fact in question, and whether this inference became part of the text representation. He tested this by asking participants to verify sentences that included the target fact, either immediately after reading, or after a delay. His findings indicated that: a) Verification times were equally fast for implied and explicit facts, but only after a delay. b) Verification times were equally fast for implied and explicit facts, immediately and after a delay. c) Verification times were faster for explicitly presented facts than for implied facts, but only after a delay. d) Verification times were faster for explicitly presented facts than for implied facts, immediately and after a delay. Answer: a Page Ref: 426 32) “Greg had such a bad night out at the bar that he decided to buy a new cue stick.” The inference that Greg had a bad night because he shot billiards poorly is a ________. This inferred fact ________ represented as prominently as if it had actually been presented. a) a bridging inference; would not be b) an elaborative inference; would not be c) a bridging inference; would be d) an elaborative inference; would be Answer: c Page Ref: 427-428 33) When it comes to making inferences, the constructivist view is to the minimalist view as ________ is to ________. a) automatic; strategic b) less; more c) attention; working memory d) remote; immediate Answer: d Page Ref: 429-430 34) ________'s pioneering research on memory was also critical to research on text memory and comprehension. a) Ebbinghaus b) Bartlett c) Loftus d) Tulving Answer: b Page Ref: 433 35) In her classic study of gist and verbatim memory (using a passage about Galileo), Sachs (1967) found that: a) gist and verbatim memory decline at about the same rate. b) over any given delay, gist memory declines more than verbatim memory. c) over any given delay, verbatim memory declines more than gist memory. d) at no point in time (even after initial presentation) could participants reliably recognize a sentence verbatim. Answer: c Page Ref: 433 140
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36) Although we do retain the gist of a sentence better than its verbatim form, Ferreira, Bock, Wilson, & Cohen found that participants had ______ memory for the _____ previously presented sentences. a) implicit; words in b) implicit; syntax of c) explicit; words in d) explicit; syntax of Answer: d Page Ref: 434 37) The concept of a ________ comes from Bartlett's classic research on story recall. a) story grammar b) proposition c) script d) schema Answer: d Page Ref: 435 38) The story grammar approach basically applies which notion (from sentence comprehension) to the comprehension of stories and larger units of discourse? a) case grammar b) parsing c) morphology d) constraint-based grammar Answer: b Page Ref: 436-437 39) Which of these is NOT an assumption of the construction-integration model of text comprehension? a) We encode ideas from texts as propositions. b) Ideas from a text, once encoded, are organized hierarchically. c) We use working memory to construct the text representation. d) The more propositions in a text, the more easily we comprehend it. Answer: d Page Ref: 437-438 40) This structure-building process involves using world knowledge and linguistic knowledge to relate new information to information that's already been encoded: a) laying a foundation b) mapping c) shifting d) suppression Answer: b Page Ref: 439 41) According to Gernsbacher's structure-building framework, encountering a phrase like “The next day...” would likely trigger the process known as: a) laying a foundation. b) mapping. c) shifting. d) enhancement. Answer: c Page Ref: 439
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42) Callender and McDaniel investigated the effect of embedding questions in text, for both high- and low-structure builders. The test included items that had been the target of embedded questions, and other items that were related to concepts targeted by embedded questions. What did they find? a) Embedded questions led low structure builders to comprehend as well as high structure builders. b) Both high- and low-structure builders were aided by embedded questions. c) Low-structure builders were helped by embedded questions, but only on the targeted concepts. d) Low-structure builders were helped by embedded questions, for both targeted and related concepts. Answer: d Page Ref: 440-441 43) Metacomprehension refers to our ______ and can be improved by _____________. a) knowledge of how well we've comprehended text; re-reading the text b) knowledge of how well we've comprehended text; performing a concurrent task while reading c) working memory capacity for text; re-reading the text d) working memory capacity for text; our knowledge of how well we've comprehended text Answer: a Page Ref: 442 44) Research on speed reading indicates that: a) training in speed reading leads to real gains in reading comprehension. b) people who speed read seem to behave and comprehend like people who skim. c) eliminating the “inner speech” that occurs during reading does enhance reading speed. d) people who speed read never fixate; they only engage in saccades. Answer: b Page Ref: 443-444
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ESSAY QUESTIONS 1) Describe some of the basic characteristics of eye movements during reading. Include the following concepts in your answer: saccades, fixations, word skipping. Page Ref: 402-403 2) Define perceptual span, and explain the significance of parafoveal information. Page Ref: 404-405 3) What is the “indirect route” to word recognition? Discuss an empirical investigation that provides evidence for the importance of phonological processing in reading. Page Ref: 406-408 4) Describe the basic problem seen in the reading processes of dyslexics. How do these problems translate into reading and spelling deficits? Page Ref: 409 5) Compare and contrast the whole language, whole word, and phonics approaches to reading instruction. Which seems to be the most effective? Explain. Page Ref: 410-411 6) What does it mean to say that reading research has been Anglo-Centric? How does this limit the research? Describe the basic questions posed in the study of Chinese readers, including the primary results. Page Ref: 412-413 7) What is the evidence regarding our perception and reading of distorted text (e.g., jumbled letters, text messages)? Are these types of messages read as proficiently as complete text? What are the differences? Page Ref: 414-417 8) What is parsing? Explain the role of syntax in sentence parsing, according to the garden-path approach. Page Ref: 418-419 9) What is a garden-path sentence? Give an example. Explain why garden-path sentences lead to difficulties in comprehension, making reference to the assumptions of minimal attachment and late closure. Page Ref: 419-420 10) Discuss how syntax and semantics come into play in the comprehension of sentences? Does one take precedence over the other? Page Ref: 422-423. 11) What are the levels of representation in discourse? How might discourse representation be embodied? Page ref: 423-424 12) What is the role of coherence in discourse comprehension? Distinguish between local and global coherence. What is anaphoric reference, how does it help establish coherence? Page Ref: 424-425 13) What is an inference? Discuss the study by Kintsch (1974) in which facts were either explicitly presented or only implied. What happened in this study, and what does it suggest about the representation of inferences? Page Ref: 426-427 14) Distinguish between gist and verbatim memory for discourse. Discuss the study by Sachs (1967) (hint: Galileo passage), and what the findings indicated about the transition from verbatim to gist memory. Page Ref: 431-433
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15) Describe the basic ideas underlying schemas, scripts, and story grammars, and how these might impact discourse comprehension and memory. Page Ref: 435-437 16) Describe the basic idea behind the construction-integration model of discourse comprehension — what is constructed, and what is integrated? Your answer should include the notions of propositions and working memory. Page Ref: 437-438 17) Discuss the processes involved in comprehension according to the structure building framework. Page Ref: 438-439 18) What is metacomprehension? What are some ways in which metacomprehension might be improved? Page Ref: 441-442 19) Evaluate the claims made by proponents of speed reading. What is the evidence regarding these claims? Compare the processing and comprehension of speed readers with that of skimmers and normal readers. Page Ref: 443-445
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CHAPTER 11: JUDGMENTS AND DECISIONS: USING INFORMATION TO MAKE CHOICES CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
Fundamental Concepts A. The Focus on Errors 1. Bounded Rationality B. Dual-Process Views C. Stop and Review II. Reasoning A. Deductive Reasoning 1. Syllogistic Reasoning 2. Conditional Reasoning: Minding your P’s and Q’s 3. Deductive Reasoning Biases and Errors a. Myside Bias b. Belief Bias 4. Rules or Models? B. Inductive Reasoning 1. Confirmatory Bias Revisited a. Spacing and Induction III. Judgment A. The Availability Heuristic 1. Biased Encoding 2. Biased Retrieval a. Illusory Correlations B. The Recognition Heuristic C. The Representativeness Heuristic 1. Ignoring Base Rates 2. The Conjunction Fallacy 2. Misperception of Event Clusters a. The Hot Hand b. The Gambler’s Fallacy C. Anchoring-and-Adjustment Heuristic 1. The Spotlight Effect D. Biased Evaluation of Our Judgments 1. Hindsight Bias 2. Miscalibration of Confidence IV. Decision Making A. Expected Utility: A Normative Approach 1. Violations of Expected Utility B. Prospect Theory: A Descriptive Approach 1. Framing a. Risky Decision Making in the Brain b. Psychological Accounting c. Sunk Costs 2. Emotions and Decision Making C. Decision Making: Biases or Adaptive Tools? D. Improving Decision Making E. Stop and Review
Instructor Resources for Cognitive Psychology
STOP AND THINK ELABORATIONS I Love Logic (p. 454) Syllogisms are rather difficult for students (and sometimes professors!) to evaluate. Therefore, it may help to go over these with the class as a whole. You can also discuss which biases are at play when (and if) students struggle with assessing them. Finally, it never hurts to emphasize the point that the validity of the conclusion depends only on whether that conclusion flows from the premises. The validity of the premises themselves is a completely different matter. Confirmatory Attention (p. 458) The purpose of this exercise is to get students to connect two topics that are ostensibly not all that related. However, there’s no doubt that the effects of personal salience and expectation in visual and auditory attention are akin to the confirmatory bias in reasoning, and the two may even support one another. Have students consider the ways in which one “flavor” of confirmation bias might influence another. Assessing Availability (p. 467) To demonstrate how the search of memory leads to this error, have students generate words that fit both forms. In this way they will be able to visibly see that the memory search leads to more words that fit the pattern “_____ing” than words that have “n” as the fifth letter, clearly demonstrating the biased retrieval that is at the heart of this error. Confidence Calibration (p. 479) You can use this as an opportunity to discuss the dangers of overconfidence in test-taking. If students rate their confidence about whether they got each test question correct and then determine their average confidence rating, this average rating should be the same as their test scores if their confidence is well-calibrated. Students can then use the discrepancy between confidence and accuracy to better judge how much more they should study based on how their confidence matches their performance.
DISCUSSION STARTERS Defining Rationality: The question of what exactly the term “rational” means is an intriguing one. It might be fruitful to begin coverage of the material in this chapter by having students come up with their intuitive definitions of what it means to be “rational.” If It’s not Applicable, Then It’s not Important: Often, students don’t think logical reasoning is all that important because they never see syllogisms or “if then” problems in everyday life. Nothing could be further from the truth, particularly for the case of “if then” reasoning. Have students peruse the editorial page of a newspaper, review a political speech, watch a commercial... just about any persuasive message will do. Ask them to frame the persuasive message in terms of “if , then” arguments. Some of the arguments may already even be in this form. Everyday Heuristics: Given the research focus on errors, students might get the mistaken idea that we’re all idiots and bad decision makers. You might want to emphasize that all of the heuristics — availability, representativeness, anchoring, etc. — are all sensible, and more often lead to fairly sound judgments. Ask students for instances in which they’d be likely to use these heuristics successfully. Sunk Costs in College: You might make the issue of sunk costs a little more relevant by pointing out examples of sunk costs to which students may fall prey. For example, students may choose a bad topic for a paper, and invest a lot of resources in it, only then to realize it’s not going to work. But because of what they’ve already invested, they plow ahead and write a poor paper. Another example is a student’s major field of study. In cases where students may be realizing the major they’re in really isn’t for them, they think the effort they’ve invested means they should stick with it. This might be the case, but perhaps not, if they truly do not enjoy the field.
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INTERNET RESOURCES Researchers, Institutes and Professional Organizations Behavioral Economics and Decision Research Center (Cornell University) http://bedr.psych.cornell.edu/links.html Jonathan Baron http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~baron/ Gerd Gigerenzer http://www.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/en/staff/gerd-gigerenzer Philip Johnson-Laird http://weblamp.princeton.edu/~psych/psychology/research/johnson_laird/index.php Daniel Kahneman’s Nobel Prize Page http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/laureates/2002/kahneman-autobio.html Decision Research Center at Cal State Fullerton http://psych.fullerton.edu/mbirnbaum/dec.htm Society for Judgment and Decision Making http://www.sjdm.org/
Miscellaneous Information Mental Models Website http://www.tcd.ie/Psychology/Ruth_Byrne/mental_models/ NSF document on decision sciences http://www.nsf.gov/about/history/nsf0050/decision/realworld.htm Mind Your Decisions http://mindyourdecisions.com/blog/ Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness http://nudges.org/
Cog Blogs
Why Do Risks With Human Characteristics Make Powerful Consumers Feel Lucky? http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101222112233.htm You Only Live Once: Our Flawed Understanding of Risk Helps Drive Financial Market Instability http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101217145926.htm Apes Unwilling to Gamble When Odds Are Uncertain http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101129203344.htm Racial Profiling to Limit Terror Attacks Is Fundamentally Flawed, Expert Says http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101117194636.htm
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Do Consumers Prefer One Percent Interest Over Zero Percent Interest or Is Zero Simply Confusing? http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101115151940.htm Current Decisions Shape Your Future Preferences http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100923125125.htm If-then plans help protect us from the 'to hell with it' effect http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2010/11/if-then-plans-help-protect-us-from-to.html Higher intelligence associated with "thinking like an economist" http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2010/11/higher-intelligence-associated-with.html Jelly Beans, Stick Figures, and AIDS in Africa http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/second-thought/201009/jelly-beans-stick-figures-and-aids-in-africa Brain Correlates of Choice-Induced Preference Change http://mindblog.dericbownds.net/2011/01/brain-correlates-of-choice-induced.html Long-Term Overconfidence http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/everybody-is-stupid-except-you/201008/long-term-overconfidence Vaccination, Confirmation Bias, and Knowing Your Audience http://scienceblogs.com/thoughtfulanimal/2010/11/vaccination_confirmation_bias.php The scarcity heuristic, half a mile down http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/second-thought/201010/the-scarcity-heuristic-half-mile-down What do I want? Don't ask me: Choice blindness at the market stall http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-do-i-want-dont-ask-me-choice.html The Uncertainty Effect http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/12/the-uncertainty-effect/ One Candy Bar or Two? Party or Study? Procrastination Decisions http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mental-mishaps/201010/one-candy-bar-or-two-party-or-studyprocrastination-decisions Inequality Aversion http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/11/inequality-aversion/
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TEST ITEMS MULTIPLE CHOICE 1) _____ refers to the processes involved in arriving at some conclusion under conditions of uncertainty and risk. a) Decision making b) Problem solving c) Judgment d) Reasoning Answer: a Page Ref: 447 2) _______ involves evaluation of a conclusion based solely on given information. a) Decision making b) Problem solving c) Judgment d) Reasoning Answer: d Page Ref: 447 3) A normative approach to the analysis of reasoning and decision making _____, while a descriptive approach to the analysis of reasoning and decision making _______. a) describes how we should think in a given situation; describes how we do think in these situations b) describes how we do think in a given situation; describes how we should think in these situations c) is irrational; is rational d) is rational; is irrational Answer: a Page Ref: 448 4) The notion that there are limits to our powers of reasoning, judgment, and decision making is termed: a) deductive reasoning. b) inductive reasoning. c) bounded rationality. d) expected utility. Answer: c Page Ref: 449 5) According to the dual-process view of reasoning, judgment and decision making, which mode of thinking operates relatively slowly, deliberately and in a controlled manner? a) heuristic mode b) rational mode c) bounded mode d) analytic mode Answer: d Page Ref: 449-450 6) Deductive reasoning problems have all of the following characteristics except for: a) going from general to specific. b) very little constraint. c) the application of algorithms for solution. d) premises and conclusions. Answer: b Page Ref: 451-453
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7) In a valid syllogism: a) the conclusion follows from the premises. b) the premises are true. c) the conclusion is true. d) all of the above are true. Answer: a Page Ref: 452 8) “All toads are animals. All men are animals. Therefore, all men are toads.” Many would evaluate this as a valid syllogism, due to its ALL ALL ALL form. This is because: a) of belief bias. b) people have trouble reasoning about familiar objects. c) people have more trouble with universal quantifiers (e.g., ALL) than with particular ones (e.g., SOME). d) of an atmosphere effect. Answer: d Page Ref: 452 9) Conditional reasoning: a) is a synonym for syllogistic reasoning. b) is a form of inductive reasoning. c) involves evaluating the validity of premises. d) features an if-then form. Answer: d Page Ref: 453 10) If it rains tomorrow, then I’m not going to the baseball game. I did not go to the baseball game. So, it must have rained. This type of argument is termed _______, and the conclusion (it must have rained) is ________. a) denying the antecedent; invalid b) denying the consequent; valid c) affirming the consequent; invalid d) affirming the antecedent; valid Answer: c Page Ref: 453 12) Affirming the antecedent is also called ______, and is a(n) ______ form. a) modus ponens; valid b) modus ponens; invalid c) modus tollens; valid d) modus tollens; invalid Answer: a Page Ref: 453-454 13) Denying the consequent is also called ______, and is a(n) ______ form. a) modus ponens; valid b) modus ponens; invalid c) modus tollens; valid d) modus tollens; invalid Answer: c Page Ref: 453-454
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14) A friend heard somebody say, “If you are overweight, you are likely to smoke.” This friend interprets this statement as, “If you smoke, then you are likely to be overweight.” What kind of error is apparent in this example? a) inappropriate interpretation of an if-then statement as biconditional b) belief-bias effect c) attempts at confirming an hypothesis d) denying the antecedent Answer: a Page Ref: 454 15) The classic Watson Selection Task is a(n) _____ reasoning task. a) deontic b) conditional c) normative d) syllogistic Answer: b Page Ref: 455 16) People often fail to choose correctly on the Watson Selection Task because they resist: a) affirming the antecedent. b) confirmatory evidence. c) disconfirmatory evidence. d) affirming the consequent. Answer: c Page Ref: 456 17) Myside bias is a more specific form of what general bias? a) the atmosphere effect b) modus ponens c) fallacy of affirming the consequent d) confirmation bias Answer: d Page Ref: 457 18) Immediate memory capacity is _____ with susceptibility to the belief-bias effect. a) not correlated b) negatively correlated c) positively correlated d) synonymous with Answer: b Page Ref: 457 19) Inductive reasoning: a) involves reasoning from specific instances to a general rule. b) leads to a certain conclusion. c) involves using premises to justify a conclusion. d) is often associated with a bias to avoid confirming evidence. Answer: a Page Ref: 458
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20) The ________ view of inductive reasoning states that inductive reasoning involves special processes and representations that operate in the abstract, outside of any real-life context. a) experience based b) rule-based c) categorization d) confirmatory Answer: b Page Ref: 458-459 20) The ________ view of inductive reasoning states that inductive reasoning involves updating the strengths of one’s beliefs based on the recall of specific instances. a) experience based b) rule-based c) categorization d) confirmatory Answer: a Page Ref: 458-459 21) If people are told that turkeys are susceptible to disease A, they aren’t really that likely to believe that all birds are susceptible to disease A. However, if they are told that robins are susceptible to disease A, they are likely to believe that all birds are susceptible. This is called a ________, and is an instance of _______ reasoning. a) diversity effect; deductive b) diversity effect; inductive c) typicality effect; deductive d) typicality effect; inductive Answer: d Page Ref: 460 22) Intuitively, it seems that spacing out instances of a given concept or rule would make it ______ to learn the concept/rule. Research conducted by Kornell and Bjork _______ this intuition, revealing that ______ repetitions led to better learning. a) more difficult; supports; massed b) more difficult; refutes; spaced c) easier; supports; massed d) easier; refutes; spaced Answer: d Page Ref: 460 23) When we make judgments, we often have to do so in the absence of information or computational skill. Because of this, we must often rely on: a) problem space. b) algorithms. c) heuristics. d) premises. Answer: c Page Ref: 462 24) In your book’s example, you read a list of names and then tried to recall how many started with J; if you tended to overestimate the number of “J names,” it was probably due to the effects of _______ on the use of the _______ heuristic. a) frequency; availability b) familiarity; availability c) stereotyping; representativeness d) salience; representativeness Answer: b Page Ref: 463
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25) When you ask people what caused more deaths — accidents and homicides or strokes and diabetes — people will guess accidents and homicides, even though it’s strokes and diabetes (and it’s not even really close). This is most likely due to: a) the availability heuristic. b) confirmatory bias. c) the representativeness heuristic. d) an atmosphere effect. Answer: a Page Ref: 464 26) Vivid news reports that highlight the danger of serial killers, terrorist threats, and toxic substances in food may heighten public concern beyond a level that’s reasonable, due to: a) hindsight bias. b) the representativeness heuristic. c) an atmosphere effect. d) the availability heuristic. Answer: d Page Ref: 464 27) The more recently something has happened, the _____ likely it is to affect our judgment, due to _______. a) less; an atmosphere effect b) more; the availability heuristic c) more; anchoring effects d) less; the representativeness heuristic Answer: b Page Ref: 466 28) Our tendency to avoid situations in which many people may be killed while simultaneously being relatively impervious to risky situations in which deaths are more spread out is termed: a) Anchoring. b) Fatality Fear. c) Dread Risk. d) Fatal Risk Assessment. Answer: c Page Ref: 466 29) Coincidences are extremely striking, and often lead people to believe in ________. The ease with which we think of coincidences makes them important players in the ______ heuristic. a) illusory correlations; availability b) illusory correlations; representativeness c) stereotypes; availability d) stereotypes; representativeness Answer: a Page Ref: 467 30) The “Madden jinx” is the purported tendency for a person to perform poorly after being touted on the yearly version of the popular video game. Our perception of this outcome as a “jinx” is due to: a) confirmation bias. b) our ignorance of regression toward the mean. c) superstition bias. d) a hindsight bias. Answer: b Page Ref: 467-468
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31) A study by Gigerenzer and Hoffrege (1995) showed that more Germans than not accurately picked San Diego as having more people than San Antonio because they had heard of it before (all the way in Germany!). This accuracy was due to the _______ heuristic. a) availability b) representativeness c) familiarity d) recognition Answer: d Page Ref: 468 32) People tend to ignore the base rate of some occurrence in the population in making their judgments. For example, they assume anyone over 6’6” must have played a lot of basketball, even thought the majority of individuals have not played much basketball. This is a prime example of: a) regression to the mean. b) the availability heuristic. c) the representativeness heuristic. d) anchoring and adjustment. Answer: c Page Ref: 468 33) Suppose that you hear about a friend who graduated from college in dramatic arts. Suppose that you also judge her to be more likely to be both selling insurance and active in community theater than she is to be only selling insurance. You have: a) fallen victim to the anchoring and adjustment heuristic. b) fallen prey to a conjunction fallacy. c) ignored regression to the mean. d) committed a belief bias error. Answer: b Page Ref: 469 34) Reasoning from a stereotype is most closely related to this heuristic: a) the representativeness heuristic. b) simulation. c) the availability heuristic. d) anchoring and adjustment. Answer: a Page Ref: 471 36) Suppose you had somebody guess how a sequence of 10 coin flips would play itself out (e.g., THTHHHTHHT). If people did this task, they would tend to ____ the number of alternations, due to their reliance on the ______ heuristic. a) overestimate; availability b) overestimate; representativeness c) underestimate; availability d) underestimate; representativeness Answer: b Page Ref: 472
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37) A pet phrase of sports announcers that refers to situations in which it seems a player can do no wrong (a quarterback completing all his pass attempts in a half, or a basketball player making all his three point attempts in a quarter) is called: a) superstition effect. b) gambler’s fallacy. c) hot hand. d) in with the Gods. Answer: c Page Ref: 472 38) The belief that after a run of bad luck a change is “due” to occur is called: a) superstition effect. b) gambler’s fallacy. c) hot hand. d) an “in” with the Gods. Answer: b Page Ref: 474 39) Credit card companies’ practice of providing you with a “minimum payment” on your monthly bill likely influences payments to the companies’ advantage. This influence occurs (at least in part) due to: a) the availability heuristic. b) illusory correlation. c) representativeness heuristic. d) anchoring and adjustment. Answer: d Page Ref: 475 40) The spotlight effect refers to the tendency to believe that _______, and is often cited as an example of _______. a) you stand out to others more than you actually do; anchoring and the adjustment heuristic b) no one notices you when you would like to be noticed; framing c) you stand out to others more than you actually do; framing d) no one notices you when you would like to be noticed; anchoring and the adjustment heuristic Answer: a Page Ref: 475 41) Which of these everyday sayings defines the hindsight effect? a) Experience is the best teacher. b) I could have told you that was going to happen. c) Those who fail to learn from their mistakes are doomed to repeat them. d) Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Answer: b Page Ref: 476 42) When your best friend gets divorced, her mother tells her, “I’m sorry for you, but I knew this would eventually happen. You were never really right for each other.” This is an example of the: a) framing effect. b) availability heuristic. c) hindsight bias. d) illusory correlation. Answer: c Page Ref: 476
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43) Hastie, Shkade & Payne (1999) looked at the hindsight bias in the context of (mock) civil litigation. In a foresight condition, participants were told that a dangerous situation was developing along a railroad line, and given an extensive set of facts, were then asked to estimate the forseeability of an accident. In the hindsight condition, participants were given the same set of facts, but were told that the accident had already occurred. They were also asked to predict the forseeability of the accident. Participants in the hindsight condition were more likely than those in the foresight condition to judge the defendant as: a) liable. b) reckless. c) disregarding grave risk. d) all of the above. Answer: d Page Ref: 476-477 44) When people estimate confidence intervals, they tend to provide intervals that are too ____, thus showing ____. a) narrow; underconfidence b) narrow; overconfidence c) wide; underconfidence d) wide; overconfidence Answer: b Page Ref: 478 45) According to the expected utility theory, our choices should _____ show invariance; invariance refers to_____. a) never; failing to change our choices even when circumstances dictate we should b) never; failing to change a course of action once its been chosen c) always; preferring one alternative over another, no matter how the alternatives are presented d) always; sticking with a course of action once its been chosen Answer: c Page Ref: 481-482 46) Compare a $50 gain and a $50 loss. Which of these is more psychologically powerful, according to prospect theory? a) They have equal value. b) A $50 gain is more psychologically powerful. c) It depends on the particular situation. d) A $50 loss is more psychologically powerful. Answer: d Page Ref: 483 47) If you want someone to be willing to take a risk, you can make it more likely by: a) telling them what they stand to gain if they don’t take the risk. b) telling them what they stand to lose if they don’t take the risk. c) pitting the risk against a sure gain. d) doing nothing special; risk-taking is people’s “default mode.” Answer: b Page Ref: 484 48) In the book demonstration where you lose $10 or you lose a theater ticket, and are faced with the dilemma of whether to purchase a second ticket or not, people who lose the ticket will be _______ likely to purchase the ticket, because of _______. a) more; psychological accounting b) more; expected utility c) less; psychological accounting d) less; expected utility Answer: c Page Ref: 486
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49) Which of these is an example of the sunk cost effect? a) Sally is too sick to go out, but decides to attend the play since she paid $40 for the ticket. b) Jenny relents to the high-pressure sales person and spends $550 on accessories she doesn’t need. c) Despite continued losses, Tony continues to play the ponies at the local track. d) Aaron has a decent seat for the basketball game, but decides to upgrade them by buying much better seats from a scalper. Answer: a Page Ref: 486 50) Porcelli and Delgado (2009) investigated the effects of acute stress on framing effects in decision making. They found that: a) acute stress reversed the typical framing effect. b) acute stress accentuated the typical framing effect. c) acute stress had no influence on the typical framing effect. d) the framing effect obtained depended on the particular nature of the stressor. Answer: b Page Ref: 487 51) Levav and Argo were interested in how different types of touching would influence participant decision making (i.e., the amount participants would invest in a risky fund). In which of these conditions did participants risk the most? a) no touching b) touched on the shoulder by a male c) touched on the shoulder by a female d) handshake with a male Answer: c Page Ref: 488 52) Choice architecture is designed primarily to: a) set decisions up so that quick (System 1) processes arrive at acceptable decisions. b) pre-empt System 1, so that people rely only on System 2. c) improve System 2 reasoning. d) set decisions up so people don’t need either System 1 or System 2. Answer: c Page Ref: 490
ESSAY 1) Describe the basic difference between a normative and descriptive approach to reasoning, judgment, and decision making. Relate the differences in these approaches to the question of whether we are rational. Page Ref: 447-449 2) Describe the dual process view of reasoning, including the modes (also known as systems) that a thinker operates in depending on the situation at hand. Please give examples to illustrate your definitions. Page Ref: 449-450 3) Define deductive reasoning and explain why syllogistic and conditional reasoning are classified as deductive. What common errors are observed in these reasoning tasks? Page Ref: 451-454 4) Describe confirmation bias and give an example of how people fall prey to it. Under what circumstances do people seem to be less likely to show confirmation bias? What is myside bias? Page Ref: 455-457
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5) Compare and contrast the rule based account and the mental models view of deductive reasoning. Be sure to include the steps that each approach entails. Which account currently has more support? Page Ref: 458 6) Define inductive reasoning and distinguish it from deductive reasoning. Page Ref: 458 7) Explain why categorization and analogical problem solving are examples of inductive reasoning. How does spacing of instances influence inductive reasoning? Page Ref: 459-461 8) Women with family histories of breast cancer overestimate the incidence of breast cancer in the general population compared to women without family histories of breast cancer. What heuristic is operating here? Explain. Page Ref: 463 9) Explain several factors that influence memory. How can these factors lead to biased use of the availability heuristic? Page Ref: 464-466 10) Define the representativeness heuristic, and relate it to TWO of the following concepts (with appropriate definitions and explanations): the hot hand, the gambler’s fallacy, the conjunction fallacy. Page Ref: 468-473 11) Describe Kahneman and Tversky’s account of the conjunction fallacy. What are some of the criticisms of this account? Include real world examples to illustrate your answer. Page Ref: 470-471 12) Describe the spotlight effect, and give an example of when you might feel especially conspicuous. Describe the study by Gilovich, Medvic, & Savitsky (2000), and what the findings revealed about which heuristic may underlie the effect. Page Ref: 475-476 13) Describe and give an example of the hindsight bias. What are three different varieties of the hindsight bias? Page Ref: 476-477 14) Describe how we make decisions, according to expected utility theory. Then, explain the phenomenon of preference reversals, as well as why the theory cannot explain it. Page Ref: 481-482 13) Define the term “framing,” and describe how it relates to moments when we are likely to be (a) risk-seeking and (b) risk-averse. Explain framing with in the context of the “Asian disease” problem investigated by Kahneman and Tversky. Page Ref: 483-484 14) A couple is trying to choose between investing their money in mutual fund A or mutual fund B. The sales representative wants the couple to choose fund B because he will make more money if they choose that fund. However fund B is the riskier option for the couple. When he discusses mutual fund A, should he stress that it has lost money in 1 of the past 10 years or should he stress that it has gained money in 9 of the past 10 years? Why? Page Ref: 483-484 15) Describe the notions of psychological accounting and sunk costs, and relate them to framing effects. Page Ref: 486-487
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16) Explain Gigerenzer’s notion of heuristics as an adaptive toolkit, and his objections to the traditional view of heuristics as biases. Page Ref: 488-489 17) Describe some of the possible ways in which decision making might be improved, including choice architecture. Relate these techniques to the dual-process (System 1 vs. System 2) view of reasoning.
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What Is a Problem? A. Well-Defined and Ill-Defined Problems B. Routine and Nonroutine Problems C. Problem-Solving Research: Some Methodological Challenges 1. Verbal Protocols 2. The Varied Nature of Problems II. Approaches to the Study of Problem Solving A. Behaviorism: Problem Solving as Associative Learning B. Gestalt Psychology: Problem Solving as Insight 1. Contrasting the Behaviorist and Gestalt Views C. Cognitive Psychology: Problem Solving as Information Processing 1. The General Problem Solver III. Problem Representation A. Rigidity in Problem Representation 1. Mental Set 2. Functional Fixedness B. Individual Differences in Problem Representation 1. Stereotype Threat Meets Mental Set IV. Problem Solution A. Algorithms B. Heuristics 1. Means-End Analysis 2. Analogies a. Surface vs. Structural Features 3. Problem Solution: Dual-Processes Revisited C. Stop and Review V. Experts: Masters of Representation and Solution A. Expert Advantages 1. Expert Advantages vs. Age-Related Deficits B. Expert Disadvantages: Costs of Expertise 1. Expert Mental Set? C. Stop and Review VI. Insight and Creativity A. Insight 1. Removal of a Mistaken Assumption? 2. The “Aha!” Experience 3. Intuition as Insight 4. Does Incubation Lead to Insight? B. Creativity 1. What is Creativity? a. Person b. Process c. Press 2. A Taxonomy of Creative Processes and Products C. Stop and Review
Instructor Resources for Cognitive Psychology
STOP AND THINK ELABORATIONS Thinking Out Loud (p. 495) You could also do this exercise with insight problems (given that most of the problems students will think of will be non-insight problems). You can then use their assessment of these verbal protocols as a basis to discuss the nonconscious processing that might be happening in these types of problems. Problem Solving from the Bottom-Up and Top-Down (p. 496) Re-considering the processes of bottom-up and top-down processes within the context of problem solving will allow students to further analyze the components that go into solving problems: perception, attention, and memory, all of which involve an orchestration of bottom-up and top-down processing. Mental Ruts (p. 505) You could elaborate upon this one by having students explicitly state how the failed attempts to solve the problem may have originated in difficulties with problem representation. You could also foreshadow the issue of creativity by having students indicate if the eventual solution was creative and why. Your Own Heuristics (p. 512) This is a good exercise for students to discuss in class. Students like hearing about the strategies used by other students in solving problems. You could also elaborate upon this by having students explicitly think about and state how the shortcut specifically facilitates the problem solving process. Analyzing your Expertise (p. 522) You could have students consider their development as experts in their personal domains by having them describe how their cognitive processing changed as expertise developed. You could also have students consider other advantages that experts have over novices, as mentioned in the text, in their answers.
DISCUSSION STARTER Problem Professors: In introducing the notions of well- and ill-defined problems, we’ve found it useful to ask students to reflect on the professors they’ve had as problems that need to be solved. “Well-defined” professors give extensive syllabi, spell things out specifically, and are detailed in spelling out requirements. “Ill-defined” professors give sketchier syllabi and assignments, and leave much of the definition of assignments to students. Ask students which style they like better and why. Do Animals Think?: The text discussion of Thorndike’s work with cats and puzzle boxes and Kohler’s work on insight in apes will allow you to re-visit the issue of animal cognition. Do students have any examples of their own pets “solving problems”? How might these examples be accounted for by a behaviorist or Gestalt approach? Stereotype Threat: Ask students whether they have experienced stereotype threat in any context, and whether females have experienced in the realm of mathematical problem solving. The more forthcoming students might relate how the presence of stereotype threat has impeded their ability to approach and solve problems. Solving Class Problems: Cast your class (or any class, for that matter) as a problem or series of sub-problems, and ask students to generate possible algorithms and heuristics for solving these problems. Are any of the subproblems associated with a class solvable with algorithms? Which ones tend to lend themselves to this approach? Creativity and Intelligence: The definition of intelligence always makes for a potentially lively classroom discussion. Ask students for their definitions of intelligence, and how it relates to the notion of creativity. Are there separate types of intelligence/domains of creativity? Or is there one common pool of intellectual resources — a “general” intelligence or creativity factor?
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INTERNET RESOURCES Researchers Mark Jung-Beeman http://groups.psych.northwestern.edu/mbeeman/ Janet Metcalfe http://www.columbia.edu/cu/psychology/metcalfe/People.html Dean Simonton http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/simonton/default.html#E
Miscellaneous Informational Sites International Society for Gestalt Theory and its Applications http://gestalttheory.net/ Gestalt Philosophy, Logic, and Science http://folk.uio.no/iroggen/index.html Problem Solving Links and Brain Teasers http://www.suelebeau.com/problemsolving.htm Creativity Web http://members.optusnet.com.au/charles57/Creative/index2.html Cog Blogs 'Aha' Effect: New Hypothesis Seeks to Explain the Pleasures of Insight http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101215102440.htm A Team With a Shared Lousy Temper Is Better at Mental Tasks http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101115161722.htm How to Have More Insights http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/your-brain-work/201009/how-have-more-insights Positive Mood Allows Human Brain to Think More Creatively http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101215113253.htm Sleep Makes Your Memories Stronger, and Helps With Creativity http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101113165441.htm New Psychology Theory Enables Computers to Mimic Human Creativity http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101201124345.htm Stone Age Humans Needed More Brain Power to Make Big Leap in Tool Design http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101103171451.htm George Washington Carver and Everyday Inventivity http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/imagine/201008/george-washington-carver-and-everyday-inventivity Why Our Brains Go for Market Bubbles
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http://mindblog.dericbownds.net/2010/11/why-our-brains-go-for-market-bubbles.html How skilled are London taxi drivers at learning routes through unfamiliar towns? http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-skilled-are-london-taxi-drivers-at.html The Cognitive Cost of Expertise http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/11/the-cognitive-cost-of-expertise/ For group creativity, two narcissists are better than one http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2010/11/when-it-comes-to-group-creativity-two.html The Expertise Bias http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/everybody-is-stupid-except-you/201008/the-expertise-bias A Step-By-Step Guide To Creative Behavior http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/imagine/201012/step-step-guide-creative-behavior Mind Wandering Enhances Creative Problem Solving http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-power-daydreaming/201004/mind-wandering-enhances-creativeproblem-solving The Expertise Bias http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/everybody-is-stupid-except-you/201008/the-expertise-bias
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TEST ITEMS MULTIPLE CHOICE 1) Which of the following is NOT generally considered to be a component of a problem? a) a goal b) a reward c) a set of constraints d) a set of obstacles to overcome Answer: b Page Ref: 493 2) Well-defined is to ill-defined as ______ is to _____. a) anagram with a short word; anagram with a long word b) long division; writing a paper c) unclear; clear d) essay; multiple choice Answer: b Page Ref: 493 3) Verbal protocols are ______ and represent a return to the early methods espoused by ______. a) step by step recordings of exactly what a person did in solving a problem; behaviorists b) step by step recordings of exactly what a person did in solving a problem; structuralists c) “thinking aloud” reports by the problem solver as they work on the problem; behaviorists d) “thinking aloud” reports by the problem solver as they work on the problem; structuralists Answer: d Page Ref: 495 4) Suppose I am planning a wedding with 200 guests, and everyone is going to have a designated place at 22 different dinner tables. Trying to figure out who is going to sit where, and with whom, would be considered: a) an arrangement problem. b) a divergent problem. c) a transformation problem. d) a deduction problem. Answer: a Page Ref: 495-496 5) Trying to think of as many uses for a paper clip as you can would be considered: a) an arrangement problem. b) a divergent problem. c) a transformation problem. d) a deduction problem. Answer: b Page Ref: 495-496 6) The Tower of Hanoi problem, where you move a series of rings from one side of a playing board to the other limited by certain constraints would be considered: a) an arrangement problem. b) a divergent problem. c) a transformation problem. d) a deduction problem. Answer: c Page Ref: 495-496
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7) Looking at a sequence of numbers (e.g., 2, 4, 6, 8) and trying to figure out the correct next number in the sequence would be considered: a) an arrangement problem. b) a divergent problem. c) a transformation problem. d) an induction problem. Answer: d Page Ref: 495-496 8) According to Thorndike, if a response leads to a satisfying outcome, the connection between the response and the situation in which it took place will be strengthened. This learning process is termed: a) subgoal analysis. b) law of effect. c) law of association. d) insight. Answer: b Page Ref: 497-498 9) According to problem solving as the law of effect: a) animals will develop mental representations of effective responses. b) problem solving involves a restructuring of problem elements. c) problem solving involves a series of mental processes occurring in sequence. d) problem solving is a mindless playing out of associations learned over time. Answer: d Page Ref: 497-498 10) According to the Gestalt psychologists, the sudden and successful restructuring of problem elements is termed: a) the law of effect. b) subgoal analysis. c) insight. d) problem space restructuring. Answer: c Page Ref: 499 11) Thorndike’s view is to the Gestalt view as ______ is to ________. a) reinforcement; insight b) sudden; gradual c) parallel; serial d) non-cognitive; cognitive Answer: a Page Ref: 497-499 12) What does GPS stand for? a) goal, problem, solution b) general problem solver c) generic problem solution d) genuine problem steps Answer: b Page Ref: 500
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13) Which approach to problem solving attempts to minimize the “distance” between an initial state and a goal state by breaking the problem down into a series of subgoals? a) Gestalt approach b) Behaviorist approach c) GPS approach d) Structuralist approach Answer: c Page Ref: 500-501 14) Which of these is NOT one of the assumptions of the information-processing (GPS) approach to problem solving? a) Solution involves a sudden realization or breakthrough. b) Solution involves a serial process that moves one closer and closer to the ultimate goal. c) Solution involves breaking a problem down into manageable parts. d) Problem solving involves movement through what is termed “problem space.” Answer: d Page Ref: 501-502 15) “Correct specification of the problem space” would be the way in which the General Problem Solver framework describes: a) functional fixedness. b) creativity. c) problem representation. d) problem solution. Answer: d Page Ref: 502 16) The tendency to rely on habits and procedures that worked to solve a problem in the past is termed: a) functional fixedness. b) stereotype threat. c) problem representation. d) mental set. Answer: d Page Ref: 503 17) Mental set operates at which stage of problem solving? a) problem representation b) generation of solutions c) problem identification d) applying solutions Answer: a Page Ref: 503 18) Which of the following is an example of functional fixedness? a) Dan always uses the same old banged-up set of tools to fix everything. b) Steve always takes the same route to work everyday, in spite of constant traffic jams. c) Kimber doesn’t think of using her CD case an as ice scraper to clear her windshield. d) Alexander loves his new computer game so much that he can’t stop playing it. Answer: c Page Ref: 503
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19) In Duncker’s famous candle problem study of functional fixedness, which of these conditions typically led to a breakthrough and eventual solution? a) presenting the candles standing up on end b) presenting the matches and tacks outside of their respective boxes c) presenting the tacks in the match box and the matches in the tack box d) presenting some other type of material, like buttons, in one of the boxes Answer: c Page Ref: 505 20) What did German and Defeyter (2000) find regarding development and functional fixedness? a) Younger children are more likely than older children to demonstrate functional fixedness. b) Older children are more likely than younger children to demonstrate functional fixedness. c) There is no difference in functional fixedness demonstration between children and adults. d) Children do not demonstrate functional fixedness, only teenagers and adults. Answer: b Page Ref: 506 21) In a study on stereotype threat, Quinn and Spencer (2001) had female and male participants engage in mathematical reasoning tasks. In one condition (group A), participants were told that the test was gender fair, yielding equivalent performance between men and women. The other group (group B) was given no such instruction. The results showed that: a) Men outperformed women, but only in group B. b) Men outperformed women, but only in group A. c) Men outperformed women in both groups. d) Women outperformed men in both groups. Answer: a Page Ref: 507 22) According to the mere effort account of the stereotype threat effect, invoking a stereotype: a) disrupts cognitive performance in all circumstances. b) pushes people away from their prepotent response, disrupting performance. c) pushes people toward their prepotent response, which can enhance performance under some circumstances. d) pushes people toward their prepotent response when it’s inappropriate, and away from it it when it’s appropriate. Answer: a Page Ref: 507 23) The vastness of problem space associated with many problems: a) is the result of the application of algorithms. b) is “cut down” when a problem solver uses algorithms. c) makes algorithms the best approach for solving most problems. d) renders algorithms impractical for solving many problems. Answer: d Page Ref: 510 24) Algorithm is to heuristic as _____ is to _____. a) right; wrong b) efficient; inefficient c) computers; humans d) science; math Answer: c Page Ref: 510-511
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25) Means-end analysis is basically a fancy term for: a) breaking a problem down into subgoals. b) applying analogies to solve a problem. c) applying algorithms to solve a problem. d) working backwards to solve a problem. Answer: a Page Ref: 512 26) Using problems that have already been solved as aids for representing and solving the problem currently being faced is termed: a) an algorithm. b) reasoning by analogy. c) means-end analysis. d) working backwards. Answer: b Page Ref: 512 27) Research on the ability to see and apply analogies between the “radiation problem” (tumor problem) and the attack problem indicates that: a) people commonly miss the analogy with or without a hint. b) people easily see the connection between the problems, and use it to solve the second one. c) people rarely see the connection between the problems unless they’re given a hint; then, they usually do make the connection. d) analogies only work with complex problems, not simple ones. Answer: a Page Ref: 512 28) In the classic study of using analogies to aid in problems, Gick and Holyoak (1983) found that only one condition was successful in triggering participants to notice and successfully apply an analogy. Which condition was it? a) The condition in which they were given a diagram of the source problem. b) The condition in which they were given two source problems and had to map out their relationship. c) The condition in which they were given a source problem and a statement of the underlying general principle. d) None of the analogy conditions was better than just presenting the participants with the target problem alone. Answer: c Page Ref: 513 29) Which of these processes is NOT necessary for the successful use of analogies? a) noticing b) mapping c) schema development d) integration Answer: d Page Ref: 514 30) Surface features are to structural features as ______ is to _______ a) analogy; means-end analysis b) surface structure; deep structure c) successful application of analogy; unsuccessful application of analogy d) radiation problem; commander problem Answer: b Page Ref: 515
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31) A mental representation of facts and procedures that apply to a specific object or situation is called a: a) schema. b) problem space. c) heuristic. d) analogy. Answer: a Page Ref: 515 32) Lane and Schooler (2004) investigated the effects of verbalizing on apprehension and retrieval of analogies. Participants read a series of scenarios either silently or aloud. Some of the scenarios were structurally analogous, and others were superficially analogous. What effect did the verbalizations have on ability to pick up on the analogies? a) Verbalization did not help or hinder recognizing analogies. b) Verbalization completely hindered the ability to pick up on analogies, regardless of type. c) Verbalization helped to recognize superficial similarity at the expense of deeper analogies. d) Verbalization hindered the recognition of superficial analogies, but helped with ability to recognize deeper analogies. Answer: c Page Ref: 516 33) Catrambone, Craig, & Nersessian (2006) tested the possible role of analogy in aiding problem solving by adding an enactment condition in which participants manipulated blocks to process the analogy? What happened in this study? a) Problem solving in all conditions was unaided by the analogy, no matter the encoding condition. b) The enactment condition was superior to both a sketch and verbal condition. c) The enactment condition equaled the sketch condition, and both were better than the verbal condition. d) The enactment condition equaled the verbal condition, and both were better than the sketch condition. Answer: b Page Ref: 518 34) In applying the dual-process view of reasoning to problem solving, most would agree that: a) both algorithms and heuristics are clear instances of System 1 (automatic and unconscious) reasoning. b) both algorithms and heuristics are clear instances of System 2 (controlled and conscious) reasoning. c) algorithms are akin to System 1 reasoning; heuristics are akin to System 2 reasoning. d) heuristics are akin to System 1 reasoning; algorithms are akin to System 2 reasoning. Answer: b Page Ref: 518 35) Pretz (2008) compared the two modes of reasoning proposed by the dual-process approach, terming them intuition and analysis. She looked at the role they played in solving problems about and found that . a) college performance; less experienced students solved problems more easily when given intuitive instructions than when given analytic instructions b) college performance; less experienced students solved problems more easily when given analytic instructions than when given intuitive instructions c) romantic relationships; less experienced students solved problems more easily when given intuitive instructions than when given analytic instructions d) romantic relationships; performance; less experienced students solved problems more easily when given analytic instructions than when given intuitive instructions Answer: a Page Ref: 520
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36) One oft-cited estimate is that it takes ______ years of continuous effort to develop expertise in some domain. a) 5 b) 10 c) 14 d) 20 Answer: b Page Ref: 521 37) According to skilled memory theory: a) experts just naturally have better memories than novices. b) experts must make more of an effort to encode information into LTM; this leads to better memory. c) experts take more time when they’re retrieving information from memory. d) experts have more richly elaborated semantic networks relevant to the domain than do novices. Answer: d Page Ref: 522 38) Chase and Simon (1973) performed a classic investigation of memory for pieces on a chessboard, comparing experts and novices on their ability to quickly apprehend and later remember chess piece configurations as set up on a chessboard. They compared situations in which the pieces were in a random configuration to situations in which the pieces were in a game configuration. What did they find? a) Experts remembered the pieces and their arrangement better regardless of their configuration. b) Experts remembered the pieces and arrangements better, but only in the game configuration condition. c) Experts remembered the pieces and arrangements better, but only in the random configuration condition. d) Novices actually remembered the pieces better in the game configuration condition. Answer: b Page Ref: 522-523 39) Which of these is NOT a difference between the way experts and novices go about solving a problem? a) Experts tend to work backwards; novices tend to work forwards. b) Experts can practically bypass working memory in encoding problem information; novices can’t. c) Novices tend to pick up on surface features, while experts are better at picking up structural features. d) Experts are better at picking up on analogies and using them to solve problems. Answer: a Page Ref: 523 40) Nunes and Kramer (2009) investigated whether age-related declines in certain aspects of performance (e.g., speed, multi-tasking) are offset by experience. What did they find? a) There was no experience-related sparing of abilities; younger participants outperformed older participants across the board. b) There was complete experience-related sparing of abilities; the experience of older participants mitigated any basic disadvantages in processing. c) There was experience-related sparing of abilities, but only for executive control tasks like task switching. d) There was experience-related sparing of abilities, but only for simple tasks like conflict detection. Answer: a Page Ref: 524-525 41) A finding regarding medical expertise indicates that those at an intermediate level of knowledge actually remember more information than do experts. This is termed the: a) intern effect. b) novice effect. c) intermediate effect. d) expert effect. Answer: c Page Ref: 525
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42) Castel, McCabe, Roediger, and Heitman (2007) investigated whether experts might be more or less susceptible than novices to the DRM memory illusion. They tested people who were more and less knowledgeable about and found that experts were . a) football; more likely than novices to falsely recall items b) football; less likely than novices to falsely recall items c) cooking; more likely than novices to falsely recall items d) cooking; less likely than novices to falsely recall items Answer: a Page Ref: 526 43) What seems to be the case, when considering whether experts seem to be more prone to mental set as the result of their expertise? a) Intuition turns out to be complete myth. b) Intuition turns out to be true, for the most part. c) Intuition is partially true; super experts are especially prone to mental set, but intermediate experts are not. d) Intuition is partially true; intermediate experts are especially prone to mental set, but super experts are not. Answer: a Page Ref: 526 44) Wallas (1926) proposed a 4-stage model of the creative process, which includes all of the following stages except: a) encoding. b) verification. c) illumination. d) insight. Answer: a Page Ref: 527 45) Which of these would be considered a non-insight problem? a) Duncker candle problem b) two-string problem c) nine-dot problem d) Tower of Hanoi Answer: d Page Ref: 528 46) Insight problem is to non-insight problem as ________ is to _________. a) concentration: AHA! b) well-defined; ill-defined c) sudden; step-by-step d) Tower of Hanoi; nine-dot Answer: c Page Ref: 528 47) According to the Gestalt notion of insight, people are obstructed in problem solving because they make one critical unwarranted assumption. If this incorrect assumption is removed, the floodgates open to a sudden solution. Kershaw and Ohlsson (2004) did a review of how people solve ________; their results were ________with the Gestalt view. a) the nine-dot problem; inconsistent b) the nine-dot problem; consistent c) the Tower of Hanoi problem; inconsistent d) the Tower of Hanoi problem; consistent Answer: a Page Ref: 529
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48) Which of the following is NOT one the three sources of difficulty in solving insight problems according to Kershaw and Ohlsson? a) Perceptual factors b) Experience factors c) Process factors d) Knowledge factors Answer: b Page Ref: 529-530 49) Metcalfe investigated the metacognition involved in solving insight and non-insight problems. She found: a) no evidence of any kind of the “AHA!” experience. b) that problem solvers are pretty sensitive to their own problem solving process, but only for insight problems. c) that problem solvers are pretty sensitive to their own problem solving process, but only for non-insight problems. d) that problem solvers are pretty sensitive to their own problem solving processes for all problem types. Answer: c Page Ref: 530 50) In a study by Bowers, Regehr, Balthazard, & Parker (1990), participants were given dyads of triads – two remote associate triplets, only one of which actually converged on an associate (e.g., notch-flight-spin, which can all be associated with TOP, versus clear-role-force, which have no common associate). Upon the presentation of the two triads, participants had to attempt a solution, and if unsuccessful, were to guess which of the triads were actually solvable. The results indicated that: a) participants usually failed to come up with an associate, and weren’t very good at picking the solvable triad, either. b) participants regularly came up with associates for the triads that had no obvious associate. c) participants had good metacognitive awareness of the processes that led to the problem solution. d) even if participants couldn’t come up with the associate, they were better than chance at picking which triad was solvable. Answer: d Page Ref: 531-532 51) Research on the brain correlates of problem solving indicate that: a) creative problem solving seems to be associated more with the right hemisphere activation than with the left. b) solving remote associates is a completely left brain activity. c) creative problem solving is lateralized – both hemispheres show equal activation. d) the solving of non-insight problems seems to be the province of the right hemisphere. Answer: a Page Ref: 532-533 52) According to Bowden, et al. (2005), what area of the brain showed increased activity on fMRI scans during insight problem solving? a) suprachiasmatic nucleus b) anterior superior temporal gyrus c) Wernicke’s area d) the limbic system Answer: b Page Ref: 532-533
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53) The notion of incubation has a great deal of intuitive validity – the idea of taking a break aiding in the solution to a problem makes sense. What is the empirical evidence for this phenomenon? a) Empirical work has failed to find it at all. b) There is some limited evidence for this phenomenon. c) The phenomenon is quite robust, having been obtained in a variety of settings and experimental procedures. d) It’s impossible to test in the laboratory, so the notion remains entirely speculative. Answer: b Page Ref: 535 54) According to Smith’s contextual view of incubation, what should you do if you are stymied during the problem solving process? a) Stay in the same place as long as it takes to finish the problem. b) Call someone to come into your current environment, and then both stay there until the problem is solved. c) Change your current environment; the context change will make success more likely. d) Go on the internet and use Google to help you solve the problem. Answer: c Page Ref: 435 55) If you came up with an especially creative way to solve a conflict with your roommate, this most likely would be labeled _____ creativity. a) eminent b) big-C c) pro-C d) little-c Answer: d Page Ref: 537 56) Prodigious talents like Beethoven are said to have a domain (e.g., music) is said to have creativity. a) eminent; pro-c b) big-C; little c c) pro-C; little c d) pro-C; eminent Answer: a Page Ref: 537-538
creativity, while the everyday skilled practitioner within
57) Which of the following is NOT one of the dimensions that Rhodes (1961/1987) proposes as influencing creativity? a) press b) person c) product d) process Answer: d Page Ref: 537-539
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ESSAY 1) List the basic components that define a problem. Tic-Tac-Toe might be considered a problem — describe the basic components of a problem in the context of this example. Page Ref: 493 2) Describe the difference between (a) a well-defined and ill-defined problem, and between (b) a routine and nonroutine problem, giving an example of each type. What is the relationship between the definition and the routineness of a problem? Page Ref: 493-494 3) What is a verbal protocol in problem solving research? List the three limitations with using verbal protocols to study problem solving. Page Ref: 495 4) Consider the two following problems: (1) deciding on a major in college and (2) answering a statistics exam question. Each represents a different type of problem. Identify each as one of the five problem types discussed in the text, and give the reasons behind your classification. Page Ref: 495-496 5) Contrast the behaviorist view of “problem solving” (hint: Thorndike’s work with cats in puzzle boxes) with the Gestalt view, describing each and contrasting it with the other. Which view receives support from Thorndike’s cats’ behavior? From Kohler’s apes’ behavior? How might the information-processing view be seen as a “middle ground” between those two? Briefly describe the IP approach. Page Ref: 497-500 6) What (generally) is problem representation? Describe stereotype threat, and how it can impact problem representation. Page Ref: 502-503; 507-508 7) Relate the notion of problem representation to mental set and functional fixedness. What is the major difference between these two concepts? How are these two concepts similar? Page Ref: 510-512 8) Distinguish between algorithms and heuristics. Which are used by humans, and which by computers? Why? What is problem space? How does the use of algorithms and heuristics (and their advantages/disadvantages) relate to the concept of problem space? Describe within the context of one of the following examples: (a) registering for next semester’s classes (b) solving an anagram (a scrambled word puzzle) (c) doing a cognitive psychology bibliography Page Ref: 510-512 9) Describe the three processes involved in the successful application of analogies to solve a problem. Consider the study on analogies and problem solving conducted by Gick and Holyoak (1983). Which condition was the only one in which analogies aided in problem solving? Relate this condition to the three processes involved in analogical problem solving. Page Ref: 514-515 10) Define and distinguish between the surface features and structural features of a problem. Relate this distinction to people’s success or failure in applying analogies to solve problems. Page Ref: 515-516 11) How do the problem solution procedures of algorithms and heuristics map on to the distinction between System 1 and System 2 reasoning? Page Ref: 519
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12) A physics professor and an undergraduate physics major are working on a physics problem together. Who has a better chance of solving the problem and why? In addition, explain three reasons this person will have a better chance of solving the problem. Be sure to answer this last question in the context of the example. Will the undergraduate show superiority in any sense? Explain. Page Ref: 522-523 13) What are some of the costs of expertise? Page Ref: 525-526 14) Define the notion of insight. Then, discuss recent theory and research regarding the “all or nothing” view of insight. Page Ref: 528-529 15) Distinguish between a non-insight problem and an insight problem, and discuss the quality of metacognition for each type of problem. Page Ref: 529-530 16) Describe some of the findings regarding brain processing during creative problem-solving, including the differential involvement of the right and left hemispheres. Page Ref. 532-534 17) Define creativity, and outline some of the factors that seem to be associated with creative problem solving. Page Ref: 537-540
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